Kiev, February 26, Interfax - Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All
Ukraine has stated that the Ukrainian people are not ready to establish
an autocephalous national Church.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=2645

What I think is behind this is the MP trying to keep hold of resources and geography. Too often its really about that ... and nothing else.

I usually support the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate, but this makes 0 sense to me. I'd like to see Kiev Patriarchate recognized by Moscow ASAP.

This is strange, since quite recently Metropolitan Volodymyr again petitioned Moscow to grant his Church autocephaly.

Fr. Serge

Dear Fr. Serge,
You are right about Metr. Sabodan. However, this cited press release comes from "InterFAX" which tends to be very anti-Ukrainian. While the Orthodox Church _MP in Ukraine itself may include people who want autocephaly, in Moscow itself there is a strong voice that is imperialistic and looks back with fondness on the Russian Empire of Nicholas 1 and also the the Russian chuavanism of the former Soviet Russia. Their version of "Holy Rus" equates "Rus" with Moscow.

I hope its not MP putting pressure on His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladymyr to say that.

I have no problem with MP, I'd just like autocephaly for Ukraine.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=mosaic&div=117

I find the above linked article to also be of interest, in a bizarre sort of way.

Dn. Robert

Please keep in mind that it is extreme bad manners to refer to an Orthodox hierarch by his surname. One properly says "Metropolitan Volodymyr", not "Metropolitan Smith". The reason is simple: the hierarch is a monk, and monks do not use their former surnames, especially not with their monastic names. The only accepted exception occurs in legal documents.

Fr. Serge

Interesting that Moscow does not consider Kiev ready for autocephaly, since it was Kiev that spread Orthodoxy to Great Russia. The Churches of Poland, Prague and Finnland, however, are ready. Go figure.

I think the problem is the fact that Metropolitan Filoret was excommunicated from MP.

I hope unity and Autocephally will come when there are new Heirarchs in the Ukraine.

I like that whole tradition of monastic bishops, in and of itself, and the tradition whereby they keep their monastic names. First of all, you are probably more likely to get a Bishop with some spiritual depth, as opposed to a mere administrator or a mere "brick and mortar guy" (a clarification-nothing wrong with good administrators and/or builders-but spiritual depth must also be there-a good monastic is likely to have that attribute). Secondarily, the names "Bishop Job" or "Bishop Isaiah" even sound one heck of a lot better, and more dignified than "Bishop Todd" or "Bishop Sam". Just my two cents.

In Christ,
Dn. Robert

Dear Deacon Robert,Since your namesake in the Ukrainian Catholic Church has the last name,"Moskal",I can see why Ukrainians would prefer to call Bishop Robert by his first name! Inok,the Finnish Orthodox Church is Autonomous,not Autocephalous, and it belongs to Constantineople.The Polish Orthodox first recieved autocephaly from Constantineople in 1924,I believe.After WWII,when Poland fell under Soviet influence,the Moscow Patriarchate granted the Polish Church a "new" autocephaly.The Czechoslovak Church was missionary territory of the Serbian Orthodox Church between the two world wars.Moscow gave it autocephaly in 1951,I believe,for the same reason as she gave it to the Polish Church.

The Church of Finland is not yet autocephalous. But it's on the agenda.

Fr. Serge

And the UOC-MP independence from Moscow is not.

Moscow is the one that is not ready for this, nor will it ever be.

Unfortunately, the only way for a canonical Orthdox Patriarchate in Kyiv is to take steps that will result in its being declared uncanonical.

Alex

I think after Metropolitan Filaret is gone, the dialague between the current UOCMP and UOCKP will improve and this will result in a canonical Kyiv Patriarchate.