UGCC head explains why there won't be joint celebration of Easter

Photo: Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Source: Hromadske

Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, disappointed those who hoped for joint celebrations of Easter after 2025 when Easter for Catholics and Orthodox would coincide. He made this statement in an interview with hromadske.ua on May 4th.

"Many harbored hopes that we would be able to celebrate together from now on. Unfortunately, I must affirm that currently, this is not feasible," he stated.

According to Shevchuk, the issue of joint celebrations needs to be addressed at the Ecumenical Council since such decisions cannot be made at the local level.

He believes that the problem lies in the fact that Orthodox Churches no longer convene Ecumenical Councils. Shevchuk maintains that due to this, celebrating Easter with the entire world remains unattainable.

The head of the Greek-Catholics explained that while the Catholic Church still convenes Ecumenical Councils, resolving the above problem would require "a council encompassing not only Western but also Eastern Christianity."

"I particularly wish to express gratitude to Patriarch Bartholomew for his stance and voice within the ecumenical Orthodox community. He stands as the sole prophet today advocating for reform within the Orthodox world regarding Pascha. Even now, no one is addressing this within Ukrainian Orthodoxy," Shevchuk added.

As reported by the UOJ, Shevchuk deemed the demands for banning the UOC are "legitimate".

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