OCU "bishops" demand to exclude UOC from Transcarpathian Spiritual Council

“Bishop” of the OCU Varsonofiy. Photo: zakarpattya.net.ua

Three heads of OCU dioceses in Transcarpathia demanded that the chairman of the Interfaith Spiritual Council convene a meeting to consider the appropriateness of UOC representatives remaining in the council. Their "official statement" was published by the local outlet "Anons Zakarpattia".

The OCU "bishops" are calling for the exclusion of the ruling bishops of the Mukachevo and Khust dioceses of the UOC, expressing their dissatisfaction that the council's chairman has not responded to their statements and protests.

"...You were elected as the new chairman of the Interfaith Spiritual Council of Churches in Transcarpathia in August 2020. Since then, you have not convened a meeting of the Council and have not considered our previous request regarding the appropriateness of UOC representatives' membership in the advisory interfaith body of the Transcarpathian Regional Military Administration. For reasons unknown to us, you have consistently ignored our arguments on this matter. In protest against your actions, we officially announced our withdrawal from the Interfaith Spiritual Council of Transcarpathia on November 11, 2022, at all levels, as representatives of the UOC dioceses of Transcarpathia (in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate) are still present in it," the statement reads.

In justifying their latest request, stating that they cannot stand aside from future decisions of the Council, the OCU demanded to be re-included in the council, but only after the issue of the "appropriateness of the UOC's presence" in the body is reviewed. Another demand of the OCU "bishops" was the "re-election of the chairman of the Interfaith Spiritual Council of Transcarpathia," who does not satisfy them.

The OCU based their request to exclude the UOC from the Council on information about UOC hierarchs in Transcarpathia they had found on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church, patriarchia.ru.

The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Transcarpathia also signed the statement along with the OCU "bishops".

As previously reported by UOJ, in the village of Kalyta, OCU supporters seized a UOC church.

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