ANALYSIS: First steps on the road to unification of Ukrainian Orthodox Churches (11/12/00)

ANALYSIS: First steps on the road to unification of Ukrainian Orthodox Churches

by Anatole Lysyj

KYIV - The first tentative steps on the road to unification of Orthodox Churches in Ukraine took place here on September 14-16 during the Sobor of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). This was the first Sobor of the UAOC since the death of the Church's leader, Patriarch Dimitrii. Sobor participants numbered 720; of those, 647 were mandated delegates from the UAOC parishes across Ukraine. The participants included hierarchy and clergy, as well as Church lay members. In the old tradition of the Kyivan Church, the Sobor is the highest governing body of the Church.

Following the wishes of the late Patriarch Dimitrii, hierarchs of the UAOC invited Metropolitan Constantine of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. (UOC-U.S.A.) to preside over their Sobor and to provide spiritual leadership and guidance to the UAOC in Ukraine.

The invitation from hierarchs of the UAOC was considered at the annual meeting of the Metropolitan Council of the UOC-U.S.A. on September 7-9 at the Church Consistory in Sound Brook, N.J. Metropolitan Constantine asked each member of the council for his advice and opinion on the matter of the invitation. After discussion the Metropolitan Council decided to act positively on the request of the UAOC and to implement fully the directives of earlier Sobors of the UOC-U.S.A. to assist the fragmented Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Specific directives of the prior UOC-U.S.A. Sobor were: assistance in unification of all branches of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine into one particular and independent Church under the patriarchal mantle; securing canonical recognition of a unified Church by the ecumenical patriarch and integration of the Ukrainian Church into the worldwide family of Orthodoxy.

Metropolitan Constantine, the Rev. John Nakonachny, the Rev. Dr. Andriy Partykevich, Dr. Anatole Lysyj and Dr. George Krywolap were then designated as representatives of the UOC-U.S.A. to the Sobor of the UAOC.

The decision of the Metropolitan Council was the result of intense and broadly based activity of the UOC-U.S.A. on behalf of Ukrainian Orthodoxy during the past two years. Among the principal milestones of the council's activity during past two years was a visit by a delegation of hierarchs and members of the Metropolitan Council of the UOC-U.S.A. to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Constantinople in August 1999 for discussion and to implement previously agreed upon actions to assist the Church in Ukraine. The ecumenical patriarch assured the delegation of his continued support for the unification of all branches of Orthodoxy in Ukraine into one independent Orthodox Church.

The UOC-U.S.A. collected from Church sources and scholarly institutions in Ukraine all available historical documents and agreements pertaining to the relationship between the ecumenical patriarch and the Kyiv Metropolia prior to the transfer of ecclesiastic authority in Ukraine from Constantinople to Moscow. These historical documents were critically examined and it was determined that transfer of ecclesiastic authority in 1686 from Constantinople to Moscow was in violation of canonical rules and consequently invalid. All collected documentation with extensive analysis of the facts and commentary were provided by the UOC-U.S.A. to the ecumenical patriarch.

In April of this year Metropolitan Constantine and Archbishop Vsevolod again visited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Constantinople and discussed the overall Church situation in Ukraine after the death of Patriarch Dimitrii of the UAOC. Metropolitan Constantine informed Patriarch Bartholomew about his responsibility and duty to assume spiritual leadership and provide guidance to the Sobor of UAOC in Ukraine. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew supported this action and gave his blessing to the delegation.

In May Archbishops Antony and Vsevolod visited Ukraine as emissaries of the ecumenical patriarch and held meetings with representatives of the UAOC, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). During these meetings, consolidation of three Orthodox Churches in Ukraine into one independent Church was discussed. The emissaries also met and discussed Church affairs with representatives of President Leonid Kuchma and members of the government. They delivered a personal letter from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to President Kuchma.

In a response to the ecumenical patriarch's initiative, President Kuchma directed Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko to prepare a reply to the ecumenical patriarch and sent a government delegation, headed by Vice Prime Minister Mykola Zhulynskyi, to Constantinople for further discussions.

The position of the Ukrainian government in this matter was elucidated in an April letter from Prime Minister Yuschenko to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The letter noted that the Ukrainian government had reviewed the new initiatives of the ecumenical patriarch on the difficult road to the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches and that the Ukrainian nation is ready to overcome fragmentation within the Orthodox community and restructure the Church as a united Particular Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The letter also noted that the government of Ukraine is encouraged by the ecumenical patriarch's readiness to consider autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

As a result of these initiatives and exchange of ideas, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew invited representatives of the UAOC, UOC-KP, UOC-MP, and representatives of the Constantinople and Moscow Patriarchates, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian government for a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. The proposed meeting was to discuss the current status of the Church in Ukraine and to develop a strategy to unify all branches of Orthodoxy in Ukraine into one Church. In a response to this invitation, the Moscow Patriarchate first requested a delay of the meeting and then totally rejected the initiative.

In August President Kuchma sent a letter to the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, then meeting in Moscow, with a request to accord full autonomy to the UOC-MP, a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. With the exception of two hierarchs, this request was supported by all hierarchs of the UOC-MP. However, Moscow Patriarch Aleksei and the ROC Synod rejected this request.

On September 11 the Rev. Dr. Partykevich, Dr. Lysyj and Dr. Krywolap arrived in Kyiv and met with Archbishop Ihor of the UAOC to discuss preparations for the UOAC Sobor. Metropolitan Constantine, accompanied by the Rev. Nakonachny, arrived the next day and were met at the airport with the traditional Ukrainian greeting of bread and salt by hierarchs of the UAOC as well as laity. Representatives of the UAOC and UOC-U.S.A. met the same day with the chair of the Committee on Religious Affairs at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Viktor Bondarenko.

The Council of Hierarchs of the UAOC met on September 13. Also participating were Metropolitan Constantine and the Revs. Partykevich and Nakonachny of the UOC-U.S.A. The council agreed on all points pertaining to the relationship between the UAOC in Ukraine and the UAOC in diaspora and the UOC-U.S.A. Metropolitan Constantine now heads the UAOC in the the diaspora as well as the UOC-U.S.A., and is now also the spiritual leader of the UAOC in Ukraine. Other topics included Sobor proceedings, discussion of future actions of the UAOC with regard to other Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine and the establishment of a working relationship with the ecumenical patriarch.

On September 14, Metropolitan Constantine presided over a liturgy at the historic St. Andrew's Cathedral, which the Ukrainian government provided to the participants of the Sobor for the conduct of liturgical celebrations. He was assisted by the Revs. Partykevich and Nakonechny and 33 clergy of the UAOC. Thousands of worshipers attended the liturgy.

After the liturgy a procession of thousands carrying religious banners and symbols proceeded from St. Andrew Cathedral to the Palace of Arts and Culture where the Sobor of the UAOC was held. The procession was met by hierarchs of the UAOC and representatives of the government, including the deputy head of the presidential administration, Yurii Bohutskyi, Vice Prime Minister Zhulynskyi, Chair of the Committee for Religious Affairs Bondarenko, and National Deputies Lila Hryhorovych and Ihor Yukhnovskyi, among others.

Metropolitan Constantine opened the Sobor with a prayer and delivered greetings and a blessing from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. He stated that conditions are favorable for the establishment of a united and independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine within the framework of ecumenical Orthodoxy. He predicted that within the foreseeable future the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will become the equal of all other national Orthodox Churches, and that the three branches of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, when taken together, represent the largest Orthodox community in the world. His acceptance, in accordance with the wishes of the late Patriarch Dimitrii, of spiritual leadership and guidance to the UAOC in Ukraine, was greeted with ovations.

Archbishop Ihor chaired the proceedings of the Sobor. Participants received greetings from the president and government representatives, as well as city officials, members of Parliament and civic groups. Bishop Dimitrii Rudiuk conveyed a greeting from Patriarch Filaret of the UOC-KP.

During the working session of the Sobor, Metropolitan Constantine reaffirmed his acceptance of spiritual leadership and guidance to the UAOC in Ukraine and his role as intermediary between the UAOC and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

In a significant decision, the Sobor did not elect a patriarch, leaving the door open for the election of a single patriarch for a united Particular Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Instead, it was decided that Metropolitan Mefodii of Ternopil will continue in his main leadership role in the Church, while Archbishop Ihor will assume responsibilities for Church operations.

Following Sobor proceedings, the delegation of the UOC-U.S.A. met with representatives of the UOC-KP. It was agreed to prepare and send a joint letter from the UAOC and UOC-KP to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, inviting him to participate in, and help with, the unification of Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. This meeting was followed up the next day by a discussion with Patriarch Filaret in the presence of Mr. Bondarenko; this meeting focused on the process of unification of all branches of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

Much was accomplished as a result of this Sobor. A joint letter was prepared for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, signed by 33 hierarchs of the UAOC and the UOC-KP expressing their desire for the resurrection of a united Ukrainian Orthodox Church and for canonical and Eucharistic union with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the rest of world Orthodoxy.

Furthermore, the hierarchs of the UOC-U.S.A., acting as emissaries of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, established bilateral channels of communication between the ecumenical patriarch and the Office of the President, as well as the government of Ukraine, initiating a new phase of government support for Church unification processes.

Dr. Anatole Lysyj is a member of the Metropolitan Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.

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