Orthodox (UOC-MP) Hierarch Comments on Moscow/Constantinople Meeting
07.15.03 (RISU.org.ua) – Metropolitan Onufrii of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) commented on a meeting between the delegations of the Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates, held in the Turkish city of Istanbul from 8 to 9 July 2003. According to Metropolitan Onufrii, who participated in the meeting, the two delegations discussed a number of important issues and confirmed their mutual readiness to cooperate for the sake of strengthening unity among the Orthodox. In addition, the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) met with Patriarch Bartholomew I. The comments were posted on the website of the UOC-MP on 13 July 2003.
Metropolitan Onufrii stressed that the meeting was held at the request of the ROC and added that “the trip of Viktor Bondarenko, head of [Ukraine’s] National Committee on Religious Matters, also played a role… On 1 May 2003,” he continued, “Bondarenko visited Constantinople and met with Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia and after that he went to Moscow, where he met with Metropolitan Kiril of Smolensk.”
The UOC-MP hierarch said that Bondarenko is trying “to strengthen the autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as soon as possible and the National Committee on Religious Matters is actively pushing this issue today. They assert, for instance, that all need to be united into a canonical Kyivan Patriarchate so that Orthodoxy in Ukraine becomes stronger and can resist various religious sects more effectively. However, the facts prove the opposite. In fact, officials do not care about purity and unity in Orthodoxy, but rather foment divisions and promote sects. Thus at the meeting this was considered as the beginning of the pre-election campaign – our officials rush to establish their own small and controllable ‘church’ and make it a weapon for the pre-election campaign and propaganda.”
Metropolitan Onufrii noted that the Constantinople Patriarchate remains faithful to the principle of canonical resolution of schisms in the Orthodox community. Those who abandoned the church should be divided into those with whom it is possible to negotiate and those “whose moral appearance is so negative that it is impossible to maintain any relations with them,” said the metropolitan.
Metropolitan Onufrii also believes that “such negotiations can add something new to solving the problem of schisms.” However, he emphasized that during such negotiations “many things that used to be misunderstood by this or that side are clarified and become more understandable and acceptable.” The dates of the next meeting have not been set yet, but according to Metropolitan Onufrii, “if we meet more often, it will be easier to tackle ambiguous issues.” Source: www.orthodox.org.ua.