The self-defense forces in southeastern Ukraine do not have broad support and are "separatists," Metropolitan Oleksandr (Drabinko), secretary of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, said.
“It was generally believed that people in the southeastern regions
oppose European integration. However, it became obvious in the past few
months that the rumors of ‘Soviet mentality’ of the southeastern regions
are very exaggerated. No matter how much the outside forces want it, it
is virtually impossible to divide Ukraine because the separatists are
actively supported by a minority even in Donetsk and Luhansk,” the
metropolitan said in his video blog.
Metropolitan Oleksandr said the “Orthodox Militia of Donbas” has “nothing in common” with the Orthodox faith.
The metropolitan also believes that in this new historical situation
the church should give up “the utopia of Orthodox civilization” and stop
thinking of itself as “part of the state body.”
He also recalled that the church canons do not envision a one-time
and mechanical change of its canonical status due to changes of the
state border.
At the same time, the metropolitan said the history of Orthodox faith
indicates that “the creation of politically and culturally complete
statehood, as a rule, leads to for the formation on its territory of a
canonically self-sufficient church structure.”
“The recent events show that most citizens of Ukraine think of
themselves as part of Europe and want to live in an independent state.
These processes began earlier and are intensive in Western and Central
Ukraine,” the metropolitan said.
The metropolitan also sharply criticized Viktor Yanukovych, who was
previously considered the main political ally of the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, for allegedly issuing the order to
open fire on protesters in Kyiv and “thinking of himself of something
like an ‘Orthodox emperor.'”
Metropolitan Oleksandr also criticized those who are trying to use
the church to achieve political ends, saying the church is allowed to
engage in politics “when the purpose of politics is to protect moral
values,” “restore the Holy Rus,” or create a new, post-Byzantine
“Orthodox civilization.”
The debate on the future of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the
Moscow Patriarchate, the possibility of it becoming independent of the
Moscow Patriarchate, and creation in Ukraine of a unified local church,
including churches that are now not recognized by the canonical Orthodox
churches, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv
Patriarchate, has intensified in Ukraine in the light of the events that
occurred in the country in the past few months.
Some experts believe granting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
independence from the Moscow Patriarchate may weaken the influence of
the Moscow Patriarchate in the world, bearing in mind that many parishes
of Moscow Patriarchate are located on the territory of Ukraine.
