Dec 21, 2007
By the grace of God the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church proceeds in its salutary service among the peoples of
Ukraine. By the power of Christ
crucified and resurrected it overcomes the difficulties, which constantly arise
in its way. Among them there are the attempts of some political forces to
nullify the role of our Church in the society or to use it for their own
needs. Some external and sometimes internal forces
make for a discredit of the Church and its hierarchy; try to make it betray its
own principles.
But the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church remains faithful to the commandments of Christ, not leaving the way of
salvation and truth. It overcomes all difficulties, because its faithful people
cling to around their pastors and do not follow false pastors and false
teachers - those for whom the purity of faith and fidelity to the principles of
the church being are subordinate to their own ambitions and political expediency.
We call all faithful to gather around their hierarchs further on.
At the same time we call
the faithful of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to treat those brothers and
sisters of ours who still temporary remain out of the salutary Church fencing
with Christian love and without enmity. We must remember the words of the holy
hierarch Gregory the Theologian: "what we are aiming at is not the victory, but
the return of our brothers, separation with which disturbs us." At the heart of our treatment to those
brothers and sisters, who remain in schism, should be the love, because
according to the words of Christ: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another."(John 13,
35).
Unfortunately, sometimes
among the faithful the Christian love cedes to intolerance on political
grounds. It is known that the schism in Orthodoxy was to the high extent caused
by interference of the political forces. Political expedience sometimes guides
those who are inside the Church and even try to act on behalf of it. It often concerns
the activity of some secular organisations that act at their own discretion, without advising with
the church hierarchs, and who sometimes speak out against them.To such children of our Church we
address the words of Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer: "One has to be
Christian in deed, not only in name, while certain recognize the bishop in
word, but do everything without him.
They are <...>dishonest, since they make assemblies against commandment" (Epistle to Polycarp of Smyrna).
We call all faithful of our
Church to ecclesiastic life and warn against politicking. From the bitter experience of recent years
we have learned that politics divides us, and Christ the Saviour and His Holy
Church unite us. We emphasize that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is beyond
politics. Our Church gives her children freedom to adhere to different
political views but cannot allow the political slogans to penetrate into the
church medium.
We declare that the
episcopacy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church highly esteems and piously guards the
integrity of fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church.
We can sum up our address
with the words of St.Ignatius the God-Bearer, whose teachings are topical for
the present day: "Who are of God and of
Jesus Christ - those are with the bishop. <...> Do not delude yourselves, my
brethren! The ones, who follow those leading into schism, do not inherit the
kingdom of Heaven! The one who adheres the alien teaching, does not sympathize
with the sufferings of Christ. <...> The Ghost informed me, saying: "Do
nothing without a bishop, <...> love unity, avoid divisions, and come
after Jesus Christ, as He comes after His Father." (Epistle to Philadelphians).
METROPOLITAN
OF KYIV AND ALL UKRAINE +Volodymyr
METROPOLITAN OF LUHANSK AND ALCHEVSK +Ioannikiy
METROPOLITAN OF CHERNIVTSI AND BUKOVYNA +Onuphriy
METROPOLITAN OF DNIPROPETROVSK AND PAVLOHGAD +Iriney
METROPOLITAN OF SYMFEROPOL AND THE CRIMEA +Lazar
METROPOLITAN OF LUTSK AND VOLYN +Nyphont
METROPOLITAN OF KHMELNYTSK AND STAROKONSTYANTYNIVSK
+Anthony
ARCHBISHOP OF KHUST AND VINOGRADOV +Mark
ARCHBISHOP OF TULCHYN AND BRATSLAV +Ioanafan
ARCHBISHOP OF RIVNE AND OSTROG +Varfolimiy
ARCHBISHOP OF ZAPORIZHZHYA AND MELITOPOL +Vasyliy
ARCHBISHOP OF TERNOPIL AND KREMENETS +Sergiy
ARCHBISHOP OF BELGOROD +Nikolay
ARCHBISHOP OF KAMYANETS-PODILSKYI AND GORODOTSK +Feodor
ARCHBISHOP OF CHERKASSY AND KANIV +Sophroniy
ARCHBISHOP OF OVRUCH AND KOROSTEN +Visarion
ARCHBISHOP OF MYKOLAYIV AND VOZNESENSK +Pityrym
ARCHBISHOP OF LVIV AND GALYCH +Avgustin
ARCHBISHOP OF SARNY AND POLISSYA +Anatoliy
ARCHBISHOP OF ZHYTOMYR AND NOVOHRAD-VOLYNSKYI +Guriy
ARCHBISHOP OF VINNYTSYA AND MOHILIV-PODILSKYI +Symeon
ARCHBISHOP OF KRYVYI RIH AND NIKOPOL +Efrem
ARCHBISHOP OF KHERSON AND TAVRIYSK +Ioann
ARCHBISHOP OF VYSHGOROD +Pavel
ARCHBISHOP OF IZYUM +Onuphriy
ARCHBISHOP OF BILA TSERKVA AND BOGUSLAV +Mytrofan
ARCHBISHOP OF POCHAYIV +Volodymyr
ARCHBISHOP OF POLTAVA AND MYRHOROD +Philip
BISHOP OF KYROVOGRAD AND NOVYI MYRHOROD +Panteleimon
BISHOP OF KONOTOP AND GLUKHIV +Inokentiy
BISHOP OF CHERNIHIV AND NOVHOROD-SIVERSKYI +Amvrosiy
BISHOP OF SEVERODONETSL AND STAROBILSK +Agapit
BISHOP OF OLEKSANDRIYSK AND SVILTOVODSK +Panteleimon
BISHOP OF VASYLKIV +Luka
BISHOP OF SVYATOGORSK +Arseniy
BISHOP OF KHOTYN +Meletiy
BISHOP OF BILGOROD-DNISROVSKYI +Alexiy
BISHOP OF BORYSPIL +Anthony
BISHOP OF HORLIVKA AND SLOVYANSK +Mytrofan
BISHOP OF MAKIYIVKA +Varnava
BISHOP OF BERDYANSK AND PRYMORSK +Elisey
BISHOP OF VOLODYMYR-VOLYNSK AND KOVELSK +Nycodym
BISHOP OF NIZHYN AND BATURIN +Iriney
BISHOP OF SHEPETIVKA AND SLAVUTA +Volodymyr
BISHOP OF SUMY AND OKHTYRKA +Ilariy
BISHOP OF IVANO-FRANKIVSK AND KOLOMIYSK+Panteleimon
BISHOP OF YAGOTYN +Seraphim
BISHOP OF KREMENCHUK AND KHOROL +Evlogiy
BISHOP OF KAHOVKA AND BERYSLAV +Ioasaph
BISHOP OF PEREYASLAV-KHMELNYTSKYI +Alexander | | |
