Παρασκευή 16 Αυγούστου 2019

NO DENOMINATION CAN HAVE AN EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SERVE IN SAINT SOPHIA IN KYIV, - THE HEAD OF THE UGCC

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If the oldest Church in Ukraine - Saint Sophia in Kyiv - is open for worship services, no Church should not get the exclusive right for it.
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav has said about it in an interview for Tsenzor.NET, the Ukrainian news portal.
"Saint Sophia Cathedral is our mother church. And it has been a kind of discovery for the Ukrainian society: the UGCC is also connected with Kyiv's Saint-Sophia Cathedral -  Saint Sophia Cathedral is the mother church for all branches of Ukrainian Christianity, all the children of the Kyiv Church baptized by St. Volodymyr. The exclusive possession of this temple by only one part of the once united and now divided Kyiv Church is inappropriate and even dangerous.
That is, we do not mind that this Church is opened for worship services. But we want  Ukrainian society to realize that it is the holy shrine of all the people.
I would like to mention the Status Quo that applies to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This place is sacred to all Christians. Nowadays there is an algorithm to provide access to it for all people. No one can occupy it exclusively – neither Catholic, nor Orthodox, nor Armenian, nor Coptic. But the temple is open to all. I think that this example of Jerusalem is very important for Kyiv, that is called the second Jerusalem".
Answering the question, whether he does not think it is better that Saint Sophia Cathedral continues to function exclusively as a museum since services can destroy thousand-year frescoes and mosaics, the head of the UGCC said:
"We have great respect and obedience to the voice of art historians and Ukrainian legislation. Since today this Church is the property of the Ukrainian state, which has the duty to preserve it. And it is obvious: when we talk about the probable opening of the temple for worship, it is art historians and those who are responsible for the preservation of this shrine who must define conditions and rules, and we must listen to them. At present, we have been told that it is impossible to carry out services there because Sofia is closed for restoration. It is our common interest that the thousand-year temple with its woderful mosaics and frescoes be preserved."