(SIR Europe – Bratislava) - The unification process between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), which began last autumn, has failed. According to the Kyivan Patriarchate, the clergymen of the UAOC are to blame for the failure of the dialogue, particularly its metropolitans Mefodii and Andrii, who laid down “an unacceptable condition” - the resignation of patriarch Filaret. According to the website http://risu.org.ua, the bishops of the Kyivan Patriarchate cannot accept these conditions by any means as they see patriarch Filaret as the one “with the biggest experience of the bishop’s ministry”. In addition, they consider the proposal of UAOC to be “the dream of the Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate of many years”. Until now there have been several attempts to unite both Orthodox Churches – UOC-KP and UAOC, first of them in 2000-2001. The Synod of UOC-KP reminded that many representatives of the higher ranks of clergy of UAOC were once part of the Kyivan Patriarchate but left this Church due to conflicts and “for the sake of obtaining the position of bishops”.

© www.agensir.it - december 19th 2011