1 February 2019 year 17:40
The crisis in Ukraine caused by the
establishment of the new church structure must only be resolved through
consensus of all Local Orthodox Churches, Archbishop Abel of Lublin and
Chełm said in an interview to the TASS news agency reporter on
31 January 2019.
The hierarch of the Polish Orthodox Church arrived in
Moscow to take part in the celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of
enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
“The
Orthodox Church of Poland emphasizes that the schism in Ukraine can
only be healed through repentance. The Church has its own dogmatics and
canon law, and we always criticize attempts of any sole entity to govern
its life, as it is within the Roman Catholic Church. We always
underscore our Orthodox conciliarity and insist that the Ukrainian issue
must be resolved in the spirit of conciliar understanding of the
problem,” he said.
As the archpastor noted, among
those who arrived in Moscow for the anniversary of enthronement of the
Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church are representatives of many Local
Orthodox Churches who can express their position on the matter. “Many
representatives of the Churches are taking part in the celebrations, and
I believe that the Church Primates will be the source that will help
put an end to various speculations and work out the common position.
This issue cannot be settled otherwise,” Archbishop Abel added.
He
emphasized that the Polish Church would not enter into communion with
representatives of the so-called “Orthodox church of Ukraine” (OCU). “We
regard them as schismatics, and the Church cannot be in communion with
them. It is difficult to say why Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople
took such decision, but it was made not in accordance with the Orthodox
practice and discipline,” the archpastor also said.
The
hierarch of the Polish Orthodox Church called the creation of the OCU a
political step of the Ukrainian leadership. “In this politicians see an
opportunity to strengthen their position and try, with the help of the
Church’s voice, to build a better future for themselves. However, in
this case everybody lost – Constantinople, the President of Ukraine and
the schismatics themselves who did not receive the promised
independence. Glory and honour be to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox
Church and its Primate for taking a firm stand and uniting the majority
of the Orthodox faithful. In this we see the only prospect for the
salvation of the Ukrainian people,” Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chełm
said in conclusion.
DECR Communication Service/Patriarchia.ru