KYIV: DECR UOC representative takes part in Vatican Secretary of State’s meeting with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches

June 20, 2016 . On the premises of the historical Residence of the Metropolitan at the “St. Sofia of Kyiv” National Preserve, a meeting took place  between  members  of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) and the Vatican’s  Secretary of State His Eminence Cardinal Pietro   Parolin ,  who is currently on an official visit to Kyiv. With the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan  Onufriy  of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (DECR UOC)  Archpriest  Mykolay   Danylevych  took part in the meeting.

The cardinal arrived in Ukraine to officially commence the process of distribution of humanitarian aid for victims of the military conflict in the East of Ukraine. This  aid ,  is in response to the call made by His Holiness Pope Francis, and was collected at Catholic parishes across all of Europe over the past two months. At the beginning of the meeting, His Eminence the Cardinal P.  Parolìn  gave a  speech  in which he  particularly  expressed  his pleasant surprise at the positive cooperation between the Ukrainian denominations within the framework of  AUCCRO, and  called on its members to  “ ask for forgiveness and to forgive  one another ” and “  together serve mankind in the name of our  one true  Lord .” The cardinal assured that the Catholic Church wants to be a tool that will contribute to reconciliation in Ukraine.

During the meeting, AUCCRO members were presented with the opportunity to directly  address  the  highly  honoured  guest from the Vatican. Archpriest  Mykolay   Danylevych  ,  warmly greeted the Cardin al and  noted the Vatican’s   restrained and balanced stance  on the war in  Ukraine. The Archpriest went on to state that the Roman Catholic  Church  had  “ over the centuries  acquired a unique historical experience of  reconciliating  of peoples and countries . “

“Your  faithful have on many occasions found themselves on opposing sides of the barricade,”   stated  Archpriest   Mykolay .  “ stated   Archpriest  Mykolay . –  We all know about the wars between various Catholic States on the European continent, as well as in other places of the world. However, your Church still manages to be the only Church for all Catholics residing in contrasting cultural contexts, and  professing  different  political views, etc. Today, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is present in all regions of Ukraine, is experiencing similar times, since our faithful now find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict, and are currently living  in contrasting political and cultural contexts .”

The  representative  of the UOC explained that the Church in Ukraine has  often been expected to provide unambiguous political assessments, which it often has not been able to do; so as not to divide its faithful.  Therefore, The Church must not defend its political position but instead defend certain political principles .  “ There exist  various interpretations of the military confrontation that is currently being waged in Ukraine. However, the Vatican did  not  support  the point of view of any of them. In conditions of hybrid war, it is important to defend principles. In your official texts you condemned the violations of international law. In translation from diplomatic jargon into simple language, it means that you supported the integrity of the borders of Ukraine, whilst avoiding the conflict between the opposing parties directly. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church acted in a similar way ,  with   its statements of support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which in diplomatic language as well as in plain language, both  mean the same thing ”.

Referring to the situation in the country, the Archpriest expounded that “ our Church is present throughout the entire territory of Ukraine. It is as if our Church has two lungs – Eastern and Western, and one of them, the Eastern, is very sore. We sincerely thank you that you are helping  us to make it heal, by providing humanitarian assistance to the victims .  ”  We  must all remember  that in the zone of military operations,  the UOC has five eparchies with approximately  1000 parishes and with about the same number of  clergy,and  also about 300 monks.

Archpriest  Mykolay  noted that the Vatican has tried to avoid making political assessments and instead acts as a Church, even though it has the status of a State. Proof of this lies in the fact that the Roman Catholic Church has initiated the provision of humanitarian aid not to state and other structures, who can be interpreted as being parties of the conflict, but instead directly to the simple people, who have suffered as a direct consequence of the war – that is, the peaceful residents, people of different faiths, of different political ideologies ,  lifestyles  and ways of thinking and even unbelievers. 

In conclusion, the representative of the Ukrainia n Orthodox Church wished  that  our Lord through  the powe r of the Holy Spirit help  overcome the contradictions that exist between people.

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