KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2019) There is currently no platform for dialogue between the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and the unrecognized "new Ukrainian Orthodox church," UOC-MP Archbishop Clement told Sputnik on Sunday.
"We have the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches � a platform for dialogue. Since [the non-canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of] the Kiev Patriarchate and the UAOC [the unrecognized Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church] have been dismantled, it is unclear in what format this organization will continue to operate ... Now the format of the dialogue is unclear," Archbishop Clement said.
Prior to the so-called unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox church, the church in the country was split into three major groups: the canonical UOC-MP and the two non-recognized structures � the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
On Sunday, the "new church" received the tomos from Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew, officially stipulating its independence.
The Russian Orthodox Church, along with other canonical Orthodox churches, except for Constantinople, have refused to recognize the results of the "unification council" that took place in Kiev on December 15 and resulted in the election of the head of the new Ukrainian church.
