“Only Russians will remain in the Moscow Patriarchate.” OCU plans to cross the Dnieper
Created from schismatics under the patronage of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the OCU does not yet enjoy the support of the majority of Ukrainian citizens.
This was stated by leading researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and expert on religious issues Alexander Sagan in an interview with the magazine "Kraina", reports a correspondent of "PolitNavigator" .
He complained that few communities had transferred from the UOC to the OCU since the creation of the latter.
“In 2018, it was expected that there would be significantly more communities that would transfer. After all, even a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople about the need to grant autocephaly was signed by 12 hierarchs of the Moscow Patriarchate. And only two came to the Unification Council, which only confirms the power of pressure and intimidation that was used against these people,” says Sagan.
However, he calls on MP opponents not to lose optimism.
“Over time, the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine will be limited only to ethnic Russians or those who fundamentally do not see themselves in another church. After all, there is no logic in the fact that Ukrainians, having their own recognized Orthodox Church, should be under the influence of a mentally and ideologically foreign structure,” says the publication’s interlocutor.
Referring to an October opinion poll by the Razumkov Center, he says that support for the OCU in society is growing. So, if two years ago only 20% of Orthodox Christians identified themselves with the OCU, today it is more than 30%.
“The study showed an insignificant strengthening of the position of the Moscow Patriarchate for the first time in 10 years. This is due to an information campaign. The UOC-MP has media channels through which it conveys its ideas and distorts the image of the Local Church of Ukraine. And support for the OCU and the need for autocephaly in the media has virtually disappeared. The OCU is predominantly the center and west of Ukraine. But there is a clear tendency that the idea of locality has gradually moved from the west to the center. Over time, it will cross the Dnieper and cover the east and south,” Sagan hopes.
Earlier, as PolitNavigator reported, he stated that the UOC is ashamed to tie itself to Moscow.
English version :: Read in English: "Only Russians will remain in the Moscow Patriarchate." The OCU plans to cross the Dnieper.