The Deputy head of the Department for external Church relations of the UOC Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich
Ukrainian Orthodox Church does not want to be “Russian” Church, she wants to be independent from other Churches, said Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich.
You should not make a fetish of autocephaly, it is only necessary if it helps the unity of the Church. This was stated by Deputy head of the Department for external Church relations of the UOC Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, reports “First Kozatskiy”.
“The question is not in Russia and not in Moscow. The question of the unity of the Church. We want to preserve the unity of the Church even when we may be autocephaly” he said.
According to him, the UOC does not want to be “Russian” Church, “We stand not for Russia, not Moscow, not for the Patriarch Cyril, and the principles of the Church, that the Church was independent from the state, and the state has not interfered in the Affairs of the Church, and we don’t want to become dependent on other Churches, in particular of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which happened in the case of PCU”.
He said: “it is Not necessary autocephaly make a fetish as it is now doing – “tamasopoensis””.
“This is the form of existence of the Church. If it helps unity – let it be – if not, it is not necessary to divide people,” said father Nicholas.
As reported by the SPM, autocephaly should be the result of the unity of the Church. Nowhere in official documents and speeches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church there are no allegations that the autocephaly of the Church in principle impossible, said the speaker of the UOC Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich.