Polish hierarch: OCU – street boys dressed in church clothes

Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chełm. Photo: spzh.news

On February 26, 2020, during the Meeting of Primates of Local Orthodox Churches in Jordan, the representative of the Polish Orthodox Church, Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chełm, commented on one of the main issues of the meeting – the problem of the Ukrainian church schism, reports "Tsargrad-TV".

According to him, the meeting in Amman is “only the beginning of a conversation about the inter-Orthodox problems that have accumulated over the past years. But it’s very good that we are starting to discuss these issues, to speak with each other. After all, only through dialogue, we can solve them.”

He added that “the meeting is a good hint for our entire Orthodox world. Of course, all is in the Lord’s hands, and only He knows how the situation in world Orthodoxy will develop further. But I think that this fraternal meeting is very important for our conciliar unity.”

“One of the main issues of the meeting is the problem of the Ukrainian church schism. From the very beginning of the current hard times in Ukraine, we have clearly expressed the position that there should be a canonical order in the Church. The Church is not some kind of secular organization where you can easily change the director, replacing him with another director. There is an apostolic succession in the Church, and this is the most essential “ideology of Orthodoxy”, one of the key foundations of our Church. And in the OCU, there is no apostolic succession – just some boys from the street were dressed in costumed church clothes. Including for this reason, we have always supported the canonical Ukrainian Church and its Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry,” said the representative of the Polish Orthodox Church.

He emphasized, “Of course, we must cover all the erroneous actions of our brethren, including Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, with our Christian love. The apostles themselves gave us an example of how to solve such complex issues. And it is very significant that for this dialogue we gathered on the territory of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, where the First (Apostolic) Council gathered in 49 A.D., it was convened by the eldest of the apostles – St. James the Apostle. This is a good example for all Local Churches how to solve problematic church issues.”

“Today, it is important for us to look for any opportunity for the revival of peace and understanding among our Churches. But at present, there is a lot of tension between them. Of course, it is very painful for us that not all Churches are here. But they are hard to blame. Maybe God willing, after today's meeting we will gather at the level of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches.

And now you need to trust in God – and everything will be according to His will. Optimistically. Indeed, Orthodoxy is optimism,” resumed the hierarch.

As reported earlier, the final Communiqué following the Meeting of Primates in Amman was published on the Net.

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