Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev): UOC - the national Church of Ukraine

Today in Ukraine, there is one canonical Church – the UOC. This was said by the Patriarch of Constantinople and the heads of all Local Orthodox Churches without exception. There is not a single Local Orthodox Church that recognizes schismatic structures, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, said on the air of the Russia-24 television channel.

"The Ukrainian Orthodox Church today is being persecuted in Ukraine because it is in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. Moreover, politicians who try to use the nationalist card say that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is allegedly dependent on Moscow.

The head of the Ukrainian Church His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev is a permanent member of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. And one more member of the Synod necessarily comes from Ukraine. That is, the Ukrainian Church can influence the Russian Church, but the Russian Church cannot exert any influence on the Ukrainian Church because neither the Ukrainian Synod nor the Bishops' Council has a single representative of Moscow. Consequently, this is a truly self-governing Church and this is the national Church of Ukraine.

Therefore, when politicians, including President Poroshenko, say today that it is necessary to create a Local Church in Ukraine, the question arises: from whom will this Church be created? There is already the Local Church in Ukraine. Simply with the help of politicians, this Church was divided, part of the believers fell into schism, a parallel structure was created – the so-called Kyiv Patriarchate. But all this is basically a purely political project, not a church project.

Not only the Russian Orthodox Church holds this opinion, but also other Local Orthodox Churches. The primates and hierarchs of all the universally recognized Orthodox Churches say that there is only one way to return from schism – through repentance," said Metropolitan Hilarion.