Prickly on the inside, fluffy on the outside
At a conference on religious freedom held in Poland, Epifaniy Dumenko said that he considers Metropolitan Onuphry a ‘brother’ and supports dialogue with him.
Moreover, he stated that his "heart is open to the UOC." A true shepherd and European, indeed. Those in the audience were almost moved to tears.
And so might we – if not for one issue. Inside Ukraine, the OCU leader says the exact opposite. Let’s recall a couple of examples.
1. Before the first vote to ban the UOC, he claimed that such a ban was absolutely necessary because the UOC consists of "enemies who merely disguise themselves as Ukrainians while supporting the occupiers."
2. In May 2023, he referred to the UOC as "parasites", whose presence in Ukraine depends on the authorities: "The Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochaiv Lavras are still being used by those who, in reality, do not love this people. And they align with the Kremlin in denying our right to state and church independence."
And such statements from the head of the OCU are numerous.
Regarding his supposed desire for "dialogue with the UOC," which Dumenko assures Europeans of, let us remind you of these words of his: "There is no point in talking about a possible unification with those who openly oppose it because they have completely different values and priorities. <...> Ultimately, it makes no sense. We don’t need collaborators who hate everything Ukrainian in our ranks."
What conclusions can we draw? Very simple ones. For the domestic audience, Serhiy Dumenko has one set of messages, but for the international audience, they are entirely different. In Ukraine, he is a staunch radical patriot, but as soon as he crosses the border, he transforms into a gentle democrat.
Nothing personal – pure politics from the OCU.
