Celebrations of the anniversary of Kharkov Council of Bishops held in Kiev (VIDEO)

On May 27 and 28, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Kharkov Council of Bishops. On May 27, celebrations were held in Kharkov, on May 28 – in Kiev. A UOJ correspondent visited the scene.

Primate of the UOC, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine His Beatitude Onufry led a festive service to honour the anniversary of the Kharkov Council in the square in front of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

"Today we celebrate first and foremost the unity of the Church of Earth with the Church of Heaven," said Metropolitan Sergius of Ternopol and Kremenets on the occasion of the festivities. "The bishops of the Church, the priests and monastics, have shown fidelity to Christ in difficult times. They showed not through themselves, their personality, but we felt that something was happening that was beyond our comprehension. We felt that the Lord was ruling the Church. And we prayed that the Lord would teach us how to act. Because in our ministry we are responsible for preserving the purity of the faith of Christ. And that mercy of God, which was then with us, has remained with us to this day."

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko), the head of the Zaporozhie and Melitopol diocese of the UOC said: "This Council for us, first, preserved the Church, did not allow the people of God to fall into schism. And most importantly, it preserved Christ for us, for our Motherland. We must evaluate any historical event with respect to this day. What is the Kharkov Council for us today? This is a firm position of canonicity. This is the steadfastness and truth of our faith."

Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Borispol and Brovary, the chancellor of the UOC, read to the assembled the Message of the Holy Synod, "Again and again we emphasize that it is necessary to observe the constitutional principle of separation of the Church and the state. Their interaction in various spheres of social life should in no case be turned into the submission of church institutions to the state. Finally, we should end the attempts to create a state church in Ukraine. All churches and religious communities should be equal before the state and freely perform their services."

Bishop Clement (Vecheria), the head of the Synodal Information and Education Department of the UOC noted, "Big things are visible from a distance. And today we can assert that those historic decisions of the Kharkov Council saved the canonicity of our Church. For the Church is not just a human institution, with bishops, priests and laymen. The Church is ruled by the Holy Spirit. The history of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church just confirms that it is ruled by the Holy Spirit."

Archpriest Vladislav Sofiychuk, the rector of the St. Macarius Church of Kiev voiced his opinion: "Our Church is the pillar and confirmation of Truth. There is no lie and shadow of vice in it. And when personal ambitions outweigh the spirituality of a person, then even if this person is at the head of the Church, as happened in 1992 in Ukraine, then the Church takes a decision with the conciliar reason based on Truth. And Truth is based on unity in love and unity in faith. And that Council, the 25th anniversary of which we celebrate, witnessed this Truth for all Christians."