Ukrainian Orthodoxy outside Ukraine undergoes fundamental changes in striving for church unity (03/09/97)

THE MOVEMENT TOWARD UNITY OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHES

Ukrainian Orthodoxy outside Ukraine undergoes fundamental changes in striving for church unity

by Irene Jarosewich

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The enthronement on March 2 of Bishop Vsevolod as the archbishop of the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. was another major step in more than three years of deliberate activity on the part of the leadership and faithful of Ukrainian Orthodoxy worldwide to fulfill the final will and testament of the late Patriarch Mstyslav of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church: to unite the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine into one, and to bring peace to Ukrainian Orthodoxy worldwide.

For Ukrainian Orthodoxy in the United States, the fulfillment of the patriarch's final testament included three major and fundamental changes in the past two years: the acceptance by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A of the omophor (or omophorion - spiritual authority) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople; the creation of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of Ukraine; and the unification of the two largest Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in America.

Historical background

With the acceptance of Christianity by Kyivan Rus' in the 10th century, for more than 700 years the Kyiv Metropolia was under the omophor of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, known as the mother Church, the first among the several patriarchates of the Orthodox Christian world.

Since the forcible, often violent and uncanonical incorporation in the late 17th century of the Kyiv Metropolia into the Moscow Patriarchate and away from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the history of Ukrainian Orthodoxy often has been turbulent and, in this century, fractious and brutal. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was a history of struggle against the oppressive policies of the Russian Orthodox Church and, in this century, against Soviet communism as well.

The dissolution of the Russian Empire brought with it new opportunities. As Ukrainian politicians declared an independent state, Ukrainian Orthodox Church leaders tried to separate from the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1921, more than 400 Ukrainian Orthodox priests gathered in Kyiv for a Sobor (law-giving church assembly). Rejecting as uncanonical the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate and its incorporation of the Kyiv Metropolia, and in accordance with an ancient tradition of the Alexandrine (Orthodox) Church of giving authority to bishops through the consent of fellow priests, a fellow priest, Vasyl Lypkivsky was conscecrated bishop and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) was established in Ukraine.

Though the Patriarchate of Constantinople conceded that the incorporation of the Kyiv Metropolia by Moscow was never lawful according to Orthodox Church doctrine, it nonetheless did not recognize the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

This decision would bring deep spiritual pain to millions of Ukrainian Orthodox faithful throughout the world for decades to come, since their attempt to rectify a historical wrong also meant that in many ways they were not fully included in the spiritual body of world Orthodoxy.

The history of the UAOC's activity in Ukraine is brief since, within a few years of its establishment, it was repressed by the Soviet government and by 1944 existed only in exile.

In the West

Orthodox immigrants from Ukraine came to new lands, built their communities and churches, and in the first decades of the 20th century, several administratively independent Orthodox Church organizations had been established in the United States and Canada. Unlike the Catholic Church, in which administrative authority and spiritual authority are interconnected, Orthodox organizations can be administratively independent, and simultaneously, if they choose, spiritually united.

In 1950, an attempt to unify the two largest Orthodox organizations in the United States was only partially successful; until November 1996, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America remained separated.

The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, now in exile, maintained authority over parishes in Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand. For almost 25 years, until his death in 1993, the late Patriarch Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) was primate for both the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in exile.

As with the disintegration of the tsarist empire at the beginning of the century, the disintegration of the Soviet Union at the end of the century offered an opportunity once again for the establishment of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church began its revival in western Ukraine in 1989. In June 1990 the UAOC was officially re-established in Kyiv; Metropolitan Mstyslav was elected, and in October 1990 enthroned, as patriarch.

The death of Patriarch Mstyslav

Patriarch Mstyslav passed away in 1993 and, at the time of his death, three Orthodox Churches were aggressively competing for the souls of Ukraine's Orthodox faithful: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). The first two Churches are not recognized by any of the other Orthodox patriarchs in the world. The latter is the largest Orthodox Church in Ukraine and, though nominally autonomous, is administratively connected and remains under the spiritual authority of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The importance of Ukraine for the Russian Orthodox Church cannot be underestimated. Referring to geo-political concerns, Lenin stated, "to lose Ukraine would be to lose our head." For the Russian Orthodox Church, to lose Ukraine would be to lose a body of faithful numbering tens of millions.

In the United States, the leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church focused on the final words of Patriarch Mstyslav, all the more, according to Archbishop Antony, because with the approaching second millennium of Christ's birth, there was a call worldwide to ameliorate differences between Christians. With this in mind, the Church leaders in the United States sent several delegations to Ukraine in 1993 and 1994.

In November 1994, Metropolitan Constantine, primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. since the death of Patriarch Mstyslav, as well as Archbishop Antony were invited, along with Bishop Vsevolod, primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America, and Bishop Nicholas of the Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Church in America, to visit Istanbul (Constantinople) to discuss matters of common concern, among which was the possibility of accepting the omophor of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The invitation was accepted and the meeting was held in Istanbul December 3-6, 1994.

In January 1995, Archbishop Antony traveled to Ukraine to consult with Orthodox Church leaders, including the late Patriarch Volodymyr (Vasyl Romaniuk) and Metropolitan Filaret of the UOC-KP, as well as Patriarch Dymytri, and Bishop Petro of the UAOC. Though the leaders fought among themselves, they were united in their support for the idea that the administratively independent Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in the West accept the invitation of the ecumenical patriarch to return to the mother Church.

According to Archbishop Antony, the leaders in Ukraine hoped this step would also help the Church in Ukraine eventually receive recognition by world Orthodoxy. However, Archbishop Antony points out, the ecumenical patriarch expressed his desire for more unity among the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, which would then enable him to assist with the situation.

On March 12, 1995, in a divine liturgy concelebrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios and Metropolitan Constantine at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George the Great Martyr in Istanbul, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. formally accepted the spiritual omophor of Constantinople.

Though there was a small murmur of dissent among some of the faithful who felt that the Church in the West should wait until the Church in Ukraine is first recognized, over all this step was received with joy and relief. Many faithful expressed the importance of feeling spiritually united with the body of world Orthodoxy and, in the words of one woman, "finally returning home, after 300 years, to the mother Church."

Setting an example

As the leaders in the West pleaded with Church leaders in Ukraine to settle their differences, the hierarchs in Ukraine pointed to the various splits and divisions among Orthodox organizations in the West.

Keeping in mind the call to unity, in June 1996, leaders of Ukrainian Orthodox Churches from all continents created the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of Ukraine and declared "that the Church in the Diaspora is one - with three administratively independent metropolies: in Canada; in the United States of America and South America; and Europe, Australia and New Zealand." All three metropolies have accepted the spiritual authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Several months later, on November 9, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America accepted a decision made one year earlier by the Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. for the two largest Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in the United States to unite into one administrative and spiritual organization. The unified Church would be known as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.; three eparchies were established, the Eastern, Central and Western, uniting more than 100 parishes. On November 10, a divine liturgy of unification was celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle in South Bound Brook, N.J.

Remembering the meaning of the Church

The next step remains the same, according to Archbishop Antony, now head of the Eastern Eparchy: to bring unity to the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, and for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to recognize the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. This recognition would bring spiritual peace to millions of Ukrainian Orthodox faithful.

"However," said Archbishop Antony, "we must stop fighting and remember that we are a Church. We need to return to being a Church and caring for all those who now suffer in Ukraine. Charity, spiritual guidance and, primarily, the salvation of souls comprise the mission of the Church.

"All Ukrainian Orthodox Christians, from those in the loftiest of episcopal positions to the poorest of worshipping grandmothers, who make up the Body of Christ - His Holy Church - must be prepared to compromise, to be 'poor in spirit' as we strive for the unification of the Church in Ukraine. Ancient hatreds and personal ambitions must be set aside for the glory of God. In the true spirit of Christ's love, I believe with every fiber of my being that we shall see a united Church in Ukraine as we close this second millennium and enter into the third millennium of Christianity. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us all."

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