Yes, the UOC-MP has no one to blame but itself in this worsening situation (for the MP).
Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan - + memory eternal!) kept everything in equilibrium, but the MP wanted to solidify its hold over the UOC-MP and in so doing made a series of what it now knows were serious blunders, including the new Primate who is, as Met. Aleksandr Drabenko - Met. Vladimir's former secretary - said in an interview last year, "trained in the best traditions of Russian Orthodoxy." A better "compliment" to the new Primate he could not have offered . . .
And there is no use for the MP saying that the KP is "uncanonical" since a growing number of their members equate "canonicity" with "Moscow Patriarchate" in any event . . .
But what is truly amazing is when the Russophile/Russian priests publicly go against the country they are living in and then express surprise that their flock gets "itchy feet" and want to go over to the "Filaretovtsi."
Now there are priests of the UOC-MP who are not like that at all and who are wonderful pastors of their flocks. One I know is, of course, a married pastor with some children of his own but who has adopted several orphans. The adopted boys always go with their father to church to prepare the candles etc. for the services! But the situation of tension there cannot be plesant for him and his family.
The Moscow Patriarch's comments that "Ukraine is the same as Russia" is simply, on his personal part, an idiotic comment, among others, to make - like throwing oil on a fire burning out of control. He really needs a public relations/communications director (sorry, I'm busy).
The UOC-KP is shut out of any possibility of ecumenical talks with anyone. But it is not worried since the only thing it has to do is sit back and let the MP and UAOC parishes come to it piecemeal . . .
Eventually, the UOC-KP will be among the most numerous Churches in the Orthodox orbit. And what will the MP do then? Does anyone really think that world Orthodoxy - other than it itself - won't want to recognize its canonicity? And especially since the UOC-KP would like to be in communion with the EP (as the Kyivan Orthodox Church has been for hundreds of years) . . .
Thinking out loud, too bad the UGCC wouldn't consider simply uniting with the KP itself (hey, who threw that at my head?!). Instead, we wait on Rome to acknowledge our patriarchal status and canonize our Metropolitan Andrew. With the KP, we would have our patriarchate which would await acknowledgement in due time, we would have full unity as a national Church and I'm sure that the KP would allow us to honour our Metropolitan etc. following a time-honoured ecclesial tradition in that respect.
All right, now several people are throwing orange peels at me. I can't believe the Moderators allow this here . . .
John, where are you?
Alex
