Scientists, frontline soldiers, moral authorities answer
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Tomos, Ukrayina Pravoslavna (the Orthodox Ukraine) interviewed Ukrainian intellectuals, scientists, and moral authorities who are believers of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine about their assessment of the Church’s development.
We present their opinions below.
THE TOMOS WAS A CANONICALLY VERIFIED, ETHICALLY AND POLITICALLY REASONABLE AND HISTORICALLY JUST DECISION
Anton Drobovych, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, scholar:
- The decision to grant autocephaly to Ukraine was both mature and sustained. It was not a hasty reaction. It was a request from a great European nation, which was heard by the Ecumenical Patriarch and answered after this nation had been asking for this for many, many years.
And this resolution was also a consequence of the great spirit of humility of the faithful, which is important for both believers and church institutions. The Moscow Church in Ukraine has often reproached the autocephalous jurisdictions. You are, they say, nobody. You have no support.
And this discourse was present both at the level of bishops and at the level of parishes. Before the Tomos, I was a believer of Moscow Patriarchate, and when I came to church, I had to hear political slogans from the priests of the MP, statements that they were the only true Church.
I understood that this was pride. Moscow Church was struck by pride, which the Church considers the mother of all sins. And the presence of Ukrainians in such a pride-stricken Church looked like an additional moral and political test.
Therefore, the Tomos was a canonically verified, ethically and politically reasonable, and historically just decision. And for believers, it has an additional meaning, it shows the power of Christian humility and wisdom.
With regard to the development of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine over the past 5 years, it has not been a boast or an attempt at revenge.
This was a mature position of the community, which gradually built its structure, which welcomed bishops of other communities, which underwent the test of unification, which contributed to the unification. And this is despite Moscow’s long-term narratives about schismatics.
Not everything went flawlessly, but this is an example of a calm action in the aspect of eternity.
Kyiv Metropolitanate has been restored in all its rights, and this helps world Orthodoxy to be more polyphonic. We were able to bring new experience there, for example, about the dialogue between the church community and the state.
Moscow’s claim to superinfluence world Orthodoxy was defeated.
It seems to me that the issue of religious freedom in Ukraine is at a high level. There is no systemic oppression. The OCU has taken the position that time and love will resolve and settle everything, and the issue of the unity of Orthodoxy will be completed. Metropolitan Epiphaniy calmly and steadily leads the Church, without ambition or passion, reinforcing it institutionally and with personnel, overcoming challenges and enhancing its authority within the Church and in the world.
This is the most appropriate strategy that the church has selected and it will have its results. The combination of patience and openness on the one hand, and strength and resistance to hostile attacks on the other, will lead to the success of Orthodoxy in Ukraine and the world. This will help Ukraine as a community that is trying to follow the canons in the great journey of earthly life.
I AM HAPPY THAT WE WERE INVOLVED IN AUTOCEPHALY Maryna Synhaivska, Deputy Director General of the Ukrainian National News Agency Ukrinform: - Five years of autocephaly is a holiday for the Orthodox Church, both for believers and for those who feel involved, who believed that it would come. And worked to make it happen. After all, the Ukrainian Church is of great importance for our self-identity, for the true independence of Ukraine.
And Ukrinform as a media agency has always paid great attention to the issue of autocephaly.
Five years ago, during the Synods of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, two journalists worked for us simultaneously. We were tracking every step.
We were extremely careful with each piece of news because we were aware of the risks and attempts to misrepresent the event.
Notably, the granting of the Tomos coincided with the centenary of the Ukrainian people’s struggle for autocephaly and, at the same time, the centenary of Ukrinform. We were planning the agency’s centenary and strongly felt connected to those who had fought for spiritual independence. It was in our agency that many news of the past century related to the struggle for autocephaly appeared. It was here that Patriarch Filaret announced the creation of the UOC of Kyiv Patriarchate. And it was our agency that was the first to announce the Tomos.
I am happy that we were involved. I believe that the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church will grow and strengthen Ukraine’s independence.
LOOKING AT METROPOLITAN EPIPHANIY, ON THE ONE HAND, I SEE AN INTELLIGENT AND COMPOSED LEADER
Igor Yukhnovsky. 98 years old. A legend of Ukrainian politics. A Hero of Ukraine. One of the founding fathers of the Ukrainian state, a presidential candidate. A theoretical physicist. A believer. A believer of the OCU. - I am very glad that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has emerged. It is autocephalous. It is independent. Obtaining the Tomos was a great event. It is comparable to the declaration of the Independence of the state. A state cannot exist normally without a Church. And one of these, whether someone wants to admit it or not, can be bigger than the others, both in importance and in strength and influence. Because it has been here for over a thousand years.
I consider Patriarch Filaret to be a powerful figure, primarily because he formed a circle of bishops who did not deviate from the goal (autocephaly) and raised such a successor as Metropolitan Epiphaniy. After the war, our state must take a powerful place, demonstrate both education and strength.
The importance of the Church here is great, and Metropolitan Epifaniy will be able to make it just that. The fact that the Church has survived and is developing only confirms this.
And although it is not appropriate to mention this on the day of its establishment, I support the state’s efforts to eliminate the structures of Moscow Patriarchate, they should not be present in Ukraine.
But from the height or depths of my years, I would like to say that I am generally glad to be Orthodox, although I am for friendship and interaction between all religions.
It is the most peaceful religion; in its history there were no crusades, no Inquisition, no stories of cruel coercion.
And on the fifth anniversary of the Church, I wish victory to the Church, which is the Church of the Ukrainian people. For this is what all its faithful seek, for it prays fervently for it. I am confident that the war will end and great changes will come, including in the Church of Christ. And may God grant that in these changes our Church may remain a protection, a guide and a lighthouse for the faithful.
I REJOICE THAT WE HAVE OUR INDEPENDENT CHURCH. OUR SOCIETY DEFINITELY NEEDS IT.
Danylo Zubko, deputy commander of the 13th Air Assault Brigade:
- I congratulate the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on its 5th anniversary. When it emerged 5 years ago, I rejoiced together with the whole society, I understood that it was the second independence, that we needed it.
When you fight at war, when you risk your life, the value of your life increases tremendously. You clearly know that in difficult moments you would like to see your priest by your side. Not only one who speaks Ukrainian, but one who has a Ukrainian soul. The Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of Moscow Patriarchate, like any terrorist organisation, supports and sponsors terrorism in all its manifestations.
This “sub-church” calls for the extermination of Ukrainians and fully supports the bloodshed; it provides shelter for mercenaries, blesses weapons, and keeps entire arsenals in its churches. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and their accomplices are responsible for the creation of entire “Cossack” structures that torture and kill our soldiers and civilians.This Orthodox Church is supporting the war, promoting the destruction of us as a state and a nation. They build churches where they sanctify weapons, stockpile ammunition, provide shelter for terrorists like Girkin and call for the murder of Ukrainians.
And at the same time, every time I see iconostases in destroyed houses in Donbas, there is almost always trash literature next to them. Such as “Russia before the Second Coming”, “The Martyr Tsar”, and when you look through the pages of these books, you realise that these people, along with religion, consumed the “Russian world”, they were brought up in such a way that they will see us as enemies for a long time.
That’s why it is so. I am glad that we have our independent church. Our society definitely needs it. And there is a difference in which church to go to, where to get married or baptise your children. May our Ukrainian Church strengthen, and may God grant health to Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epiphaniy.
THE GRANTING OF THE TOMOS IS THE GREATEST SPIRITUAL VICTORY.
Yuriy Syrotyuk, a grenade launcher soldier of the 5th Assault Regiment, is the most popular commentator on events from the frontline.
He is a historian.
- The front is somewhat reminiscent of a church. Everyone prays here.
There are no non-believers here.
Before the war, someone could call themselves agnostic and be sceptical about the church, but here you feel a direct connection with the Almighty.
That’s why every trench, blindage, and hastily built shelter is prayed over.
This is where you feel the need for prayer and the sacraments, and the priest is the best counsellor and psychologist.
And each time you meet a father in a khaki cassock, it is like a miracle, like an outlet.
Once upon a time, a devil from the Kremlin spoke of the collapse of the prison of nations, the Soviet empire, as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.
But the granting of the Tomos is the greatest spiritual victory.
Kyiv is naturally reclaiming its place as the second Jerusalem, the largest centre of spirituality in Eastern Europe… living in the epicentre of this process, we probably do not always feel the significance of the fact that the autocephalous Orthodox Church has returned to Kyiv. This means that the grandeur of Kyiv will return. As well as the special mission of preserving spirituality in today’s nihilistic world. Here in the trenches, you often wonder what could be the impetus to sacrifice your priceless life.
Only faith in a priceless defender’s soul that will live forever, having given his life for his friends…
Interviewed by Yaroslava Mishchenko
