War has showed which Church is Ukrainian and which only pretends to be such
None of the Orthodox Churches ever gained independence without the support of the state. The Ukrainian Church is no exception. Primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy told this in an interview to Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (Week Mirror)
“Looking at our history, it is known that all the Churches that have received autocephaly over the past hundred years have benefitted from significant support from the state in this process,” said the Primate of the OCU. “So our case is neither special nor new. Basically, we are now talking about a very long process, which just came to its logical conclusion during President Poroshenko's tenure. Ukrainian Presidents Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma have repeatedly stated that Ukraine needed its own local Church. In 2008, under President Yushchenko, it seemed that such a Church would already be established, but everything did not go so well. The issue was not resolved. Petro Poroshenko approached this issue quite seriously and, having the gift of diplomacy and persuasion, succeeded to build and effectively hold talks with the Ecumenical Patriarch. And since we are in a state of war, it is obvious that it is important for Ukraine to enjoy spiritual security.”
“The war actually showed who is who in Ukraine, which Church is actually Ukrainian, and which is Ukrainian in the name only,” Metropolitan Epifaniy is confident. “Therefore, over the past five years, a lot of faithful parishioners have joined the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate, and now - the recognized Local Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This was a necessity for a warring country.
The Russian authorities understand the role of the Church very well. For example, when asked what guarantees the security of the Russian state, Putin replied: a nuclear shield and a Church. But when the Ukrainian state tries to defend itself spiritually, this very Russia says that the Ukrainian state interferes in the affairs of the Church. But then what is happening in Russia itself? No independent Church exists there as such. Structurally, the Russian Church is the State Department for Religious Affairs. Everything can be done, including the destabilizing actions on the territory of Ukraine through the Moscow Patriarchate. If our state contributed to the unification of the Orthodox of Ukraine, it does not mean that it interfered in the Church matters. These are quite different things: to interfere in the Church matters — and to help in ensuring spiritual security of the country,” concluded the Primate of the OCU.
