Dumenko: For us to meet UOC Council’s conditions means renouncing God
The OCU stated that the UOC's demands preceding a possible dialogue contradict the truth.
On August 15, the OCU published an appeal from Epifaniy Dumenko to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, calling for a dialogue on unity "without preconditions".
"We know that you previously voiced three demands for such a dialogue, namely – that we reject the decisions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and ignore the requests of those who make these decisions and wish to be united as the Orthodox Church of Ukraine," the statement regarding the decisions of the UOC Council in Feofania on May 27, 2022, reads.
According to Dumenko, "for objective and independent reasons, we cannot agree to such demands, as they contradict the truth and would mean renouncing God, who granted our hierarchs and clergy the grace of priesthood, and renouncing the Church of Christ, which was benevolent to Ukraine through the hands and labour of the Ecumenical Patriarch."
As reported by the UOJ, Epifaniy recalled several conditions adopted at the UOC Council in Feofania, without mentioning the demand to stop the violent seizures of churches, beatings of clergy and believers, and repeatedly insisted that the dialogue should begin "without preconditions".
Earlier, on August 13, during a meeting of the official Ukrainian delegation with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the head of the OCU assured the head of the Phanar that he consistently urges representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to unite.
