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UOC-KP Orthodox Head Expresses Regret to Ukraine's Muslims over “Cartoons”
In connection with the “cartoon scandal” which brought about protests in Muslim countries, Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), expressed his deep concern. kievpatr.org.ua posted the news on 8 February 2006.
“These events are an alarming signal for the whole world, especially for Europe,” said Patriarch Filaret. “The appearance of such cartoons is a natural result, showing that someone in Europe not only has forgotten his/her Christian roots but also is trying to deny them. And those who have no respect for their own tradition and religion cannot understand and respect the feelings of those who follow other spiritual traditions. By denying their own Christian faith, such people cannot understand why others so passionately defend the traditions of their religion.”
The head of the UOC-KP expressed his regret to the Muslims of Ukraine at the offence to their religious feelings. “Offending religious feelings is inadmissible. We condemn the publication of these offensive cartoons and we believe they cannot be republished, and Ukraine is no exception. I hope that possible protests against them will be peaceful,” said Patriarch Filaret.
He believes: “The war on terror cannot serve as a justification of offences of the faithful, and you cannot defend your faith by attacking and killing.”
“One of the key conditions for a democratic society to exist is respect for the rights of others. Therefore some freedoms, like the freedom of speech, should be correlated with the respect for the right to freedom of conscience and religion. Conscious defiance and offence of the feelings of the faithful, even if freedom of speech and self-expression is used as a cover, are inadmissible!” said Patriarch Filaret.
Patriarch Filaret recalled that Ukrainian society has known several antireligious campaigns. In the 1960s lampoons and cartoons about God, the church, and believers were published in the press. “Europeans should not repeat the same mistakes. The world received a hard lesson; and each of us should make proper conclusions,” believes the head of the UOC-KP.
Source: • http://www.kievpatr.org.ua/news.php?page=show_nov&id=513 and http://risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;9064/
Ukrainian Orthodox in USA Ask Constantinople Patriarch to Intercede in Church Affairs in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) USA called upon Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople “to defend” Ukraine from “the machinations” of the Moscow Patriarchate. cerkva.org.ua posted the news on 24 October 2005.
“We call upon the high pastor to take strict measures to guarantee sovereign Ukraine the opportunity to enjoy the blessings of a national church, free from external church control and interference, despite possible threats and machinations of the Moscow Patriarchate,” reads the text of the Resolution of the Metropolitan Council of the UOC USA, which is under the jurisdiction of Constantinople.
The text of another resolution adopted by the same council says that “the united church in Ukraine,” the creation of which “our hierarchs” should work on, is to be built “under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.” They also call upon the hierarchs to influence “the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.”
The council also gave a positive assessment to the statement of Archbishop Vsevolod (Majdanski) of the UOC US a after his meeting with Yushchenko in early 2005. He underlined that the patriarch of Constantinople “recognizes the borders of the Moscow Patriarchate the way they were when this patriarchate was recognized by world Orthodoxy in 1593.”
At that time the Kyiv Metropolitanate was part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, as the authors of the document report.
The UOC USA consists of 100 parishes and missions, as its site reports.
Source: http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;7753/Georgian Parish under UOC-KP Orthodox Jurisdiction Created in Kyiv
Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), has ordained Georgian Deacon Mykola Inasaridze to the priesthood. Fr. Inasaridze will serve at the newly-formed Georgian parish in Kyiv under the jurisdiction of the UOC-KP. The ordination was conducted during a solemn Liturgy dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Patriarch Filaret's enthronement, held at St Volodymyr's Church on 23 October 2005.
Rati Samkurashvili, a member of the Security Department of the Georgian Parliament and a national deputy of Georgia, Beka Mindiashvili, the Georgian deputy ombudsman, and Gregory Katamadze, Georgian ambassador to Ukraine, were present at the Liturgy.
In his welcoming speech, the Georgian ambassador noted that Georgia went on “a thorny path” before its Orthodox church was recognized as autocephalous one, and so, he said, it supports the desire of the Ukrainian Orthodox to have their own national autocephalous church.
Lviv Autocephalous Orthodox Brotherhood Questions Unification Sobor
A statement from the presidium of the Lviv National Brotherhood of St. Andrew the First-called Apostle dated 18 October 2005 states that information about the decrees of the Hierarchal Sobor (Assembly) and the Patriarchal Council of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) from 11 October 2005, at which unification of the UAOC with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) was discussed, does not correspond to reality. The brotherhood also notes that the decree was not signed by all hierarchs and members of the Patriarchal Council of the UAOC.
“Three members of the Patriarchal Council were absent from the meeting: Archbishop Ihor [Isichenko], Yevhen Sverstiuk and Roman Maksymovych. The minutes of the meeting were not signed by Archbishop Makarii of Lviv, who was present there. The members of the Patriarchal Council from the laity (Yevhen Sverstiuk and Roman Maksymovych) have not been invited to the council's meetings for two years now,” the text of the statement reads.
It is also emphasized in the document that “the Lviv National Brotherhood of St. Andrew the Apostle remains faithful to the Testaments of Patriarch Mstyslav and Patriarch Dymytrii and follows the decisions of the 2000 National Sobor [Assembly] of the UAOC.”
RISU note: The Patriarchal Council of the UAOC, with its present membership, was formed from the National Sobor (Assembly) of the UAOC in September 2000. After that, because of the schism inside the UAOC, Archbishop Ihor (Isichenko) was expelled in 2003. The brotherhood of the UAOC does not support the position of Metropolitan Mefodii (Kudriakov), head of the UAOC. Archbishop Ihor and the brotherhood see the solution of the indefinite status of the UAOC in adherence to the idea of the Testament of the late Patriarch Dymytri (Yarema): unification with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA and the UAOC in the diaspora, who are in canonical union with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.Soucre: http://risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;7697/
UOC-KP and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Continue Unification Talks
A joint meeting of the plenipotentiary Committees on the Unification of Churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), blessed by the heads of the UOC-KP and the UAOC, took place in Kyiv on 15 September 2005. As a result of their work, the committees came to a common vision of the importance and ways to unite the UOC-KP and the UAOC into a single Ukrainian national Orthodox church. The committees agreed to continue their work regarding the unification of the UOC-KP and the UAOC. source: http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;7298/
UOC-KP Orthodox Head Calls for Reconciliation
“Ukrainians, all citizens of Ukraine, should be looking for a way to mutual understanding and reconciliation,” said Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), The patriarch had been asked by the press service of the UOC-KP about his attitude to the rehabilitation of soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), who fought the Soviets in the 1940s. “If we have managed to find understanding with the Germans, who once led a war against us, bringing suffering and hostility, why can't the citizens of one country reconcile?” asked the patriarch. uaorthodox.org posted the news on 17 October 2005.
According to Patriarch Filaret, “Pro-Russian chauvinist powers are interested in spreading discord in Ukraine as well as inciting hatred and hostility… They are inciting hostility between the east and west of Ukraine, between the Orthodox faithful of the Kyivan and Moscow patriarchates, between the Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking populations. These powers are trying to incite hatred in those who fought for Ukraine's independence. The Ukrainian government should pay attention to their anti-Ukrainian activity because it violates the Ukrainian Constitution.”
He also emphasized that reconciliation in Ukraine concerning this issue will be possible only when the true story of the UIA becomes widely-known. Otherwise, he said, pro-Russian chauvinists will continue to stir up this problem.
“We condemn fascism and inciting of hostility between nations. We believe that fascist crimes against humanity cannot be justified. But we should not confuse the fighters for Ukraine's independence and the fascists. Those who committed crimes against humanity should be punished, and those who fought for Ukraine's independence under terrible conditions deserve our respect and honor,” said Patriarch Filaret.
Source: http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;7672/Metropolitan Mefodiy of Kyiv to visit America
According to an article on the Brama.com web site, Metroplitan Mefodiy, UAOC, will visit the United States in October. Quoting Bishop Paul Peter Jesep, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church of North and South America and the Diaspora , In October, "His Beatitude will visit the United States. It will be historic in many ways. He is playing an important role in the re-birth of a distinct national Ukrainian Orthodox faith, respectful of Byzantine Catholic sisters and brothers, that is neither Russified nor subservient to Constantinople. " To read the entire article CLICK HERE>>>
Autocephalous Orthodox Assembly Considers Single National ChurchThe Hierarchical Sobor [Assembly] of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) discussed the possibility of the unification of the UAOC with other Ukrainian Orthodox churches into a single Ukrainian national Orthodox church. All the hierarchs of the UAOC and members of the Patriarchal Council participated in the sobor, which was held in the Patriarchal Building in Kyiv on 11 August 2005.
Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), also attended the sobor and expressed his viewpoint concerning the unification of churches into a single national church. Patriarch Filaret's suggestion was to unite into a single church without any conditions on the part of the UAOC with Patriarch Filaret as one possible candidate for the head of the united church.
The decision of the sobor was to hold a meeting in every eparchy [diocese] of the UAOC on the unification issue as soon as possible and to summon the next hierarchical sobor in order to arrive at a final decision concerning the possible unification into a single national church.
According to the sobor, the participation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, headed by Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), is very important for the unification process.
The sobor decided to invite representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for active participation in the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches according to the canons of the Orthodox Church.
The sobor also decided to propose opening a court of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Lviv and at a church or monastery in Kyiv, which might be suggested by the UOC-KP.
In addition to the key issue concerning the possible union of churches, other daily issues of the UAOC were decided. In particular, the issue of the episcopal ordination of Ihumen [Abbot] Ilarion (Savchuk) as bishop of Cherkasy and Kirovohrad received a positive response. Among other issues, the replacement of the vacancy at the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy of the UAOC was raised.
The sobor highly praised and expressed deep gratitude to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Ukraine's government for their assistance and support in the unification process of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches into a single national Orthodox church for the consolidation of the Ukrainian nation and strengthening Orthodoxy on the territory of Ukraine.
Source: • http://www.uaoc.info/ua/news/news_/?pid=125Autocephalous Orthodox and UOC-KP Make First Step To Union
According to RISU sources, Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), met with Metropolitan Mefodii (Kudriakov), head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), in the patriarchal building of the UAOC in Kyiv on 11 August 2005. They discussed the unification process of these two churches. At the moment RISU does not possess any official documents concerning the results of the meeting. The press agency of the UOC-KP confirmed this information and promised to make an official report in the nearest future. source:RISU http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;6870/
The Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Orthodox Church is an English speaking parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate located in Plymouth, Indiana. We are a mission parish of New Pecherska Ukrainian Orthodox Monastery. We are a Christ centered church. We worship Jesus Christ in Truth and Spirit.
We are a family of many nations. Our family invites all to join us as we prepare for the glorious birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our parish family is composed of those of Ukrainian, Greek, Russian, Romanian, Serbian, and many other ethnic heritages. Services are in English.
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