The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is ready to accept UOC priests, but there are nuances

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is ready to accept all parishes that are part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) into its ranks, but with certain conditions.

Archpriest Theodore Orobets of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine said this during a live broadcast on Intent.Insight.

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He noted that negotiations should be conducted with everyone, but the final decision will be made by the synod and those priests who worked for the aggressor country will definitely not be accepted.

"Even if Agafangel, for example, comes to us tomorrow (Metropolitan of the UOC in Odesa region), we will talk to him. I will talk to the priests, our bishop will talk to the bishops. Of course, I think Agafangel will not be supported by the entire diocese, because there are different people, but we will talk to everyone. There is a certain algorithm when a person will not be accepted for sure - if, for example, a person worked against Ukraine or led an immoral lifestyle," said Theodore Orobets.

However, this does not mean that nothing will change for the newcomers after the transition to the OCU. There may be changes in staff positions, but, according to Theodore Orobets, the synod will not change the head of the diocese.

The archpriest also noted that there are rare cases when priests of the Russian Orthodox Church move to the OCU out of ideological convictions alone. More often there are other factors.

The law banning the activities of religious institutions with ties to the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine came into force on September 23, so now religious communities have nine months to completely sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

In August, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law banning the activities of religious organizations associated with Russia in Ukraine.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the relevant law in the second reading on August 20, 2024. The day before, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) supported the parliamentary initiative to ban the activities of religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.

On October 19, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading Bill No. 8371 on the ban on religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church. In particular, it was a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

Кирило Бойко