Hierarch of Jerusalem: Ready to provide a venue for a council on Ukraine
Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastia. Photo: screenshot from "Religions Today" video
Archbishop Theodosiy of Sebastia (Atallah Hanna), a hierarch of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, stated that he is ready to provide a venue for holding a pan-Orthodox council dedicated to the Ukrainian church crisis. He said this in an interview with the publication Religions Today.
According to the archbishop, the situation surrounding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is part of a broader crisis in global Orthodoxy caused by schisms and disagreements between Churches. He emphasized that such problems are not insoluble and can be overcome through dialogue, prayer, and brotherly communion.
“Patriarchs must meet, the primates of the Churches must meet, and a solution must be found. There is no problem that has no solution,” the hierarch noted.
Archbishop Theodosiy stated that the Jerusalem Patriarchate is ready to host such a meeting on its territory. According to him, the location itself is not of principal importance – it may be any city where the primates deem it possible to gather for the sake of restoring church unity.
“For the situation of the Orthodox Church to improve, the primates of the Churches must come together – in Jerusalem, in Amman, or in any place they choose,” the archbishop emphasized.
He also confirmed that the Jerusalem Patriarchate recognizes exclusively the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy and does not recognize any other church structures in Ukraine.
The hierarch described the persecutions against the UOC – seizures of churches, pressure on clergy and believers, and arrests – as “a shameful stain on the body of humanity,” and called on Christian Churches and international human rights organizations to give these actions a principled assessment.
According to him, only conciliar discussion based on respect for church canons and mutual trust is capable of leading to decisions that will guarantee the unity of Orthodoxy and the preservation of its mission in the modern world.
As the UOJ previously reported, a UOC hierarch stated that the Jerusalem Church is a center capable of uniting Orthodoxy.
Read also
Ostapenko: Everyone in UCCRO feels fine except the “FSB UOC”
The director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve called the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches “a wonderful organization.”
Khmelnytskyi Eparchy donates funds for treatment of 12-year-old girl
UOC believers raised UAH 20,000 for Anastasiia Mamchur as part of an eparchial charity campaign.
Shevchuk: We had to convince world UOC ban does not violate religious freedom
The UGCC head claims that by banning the UOC, the state is not violating religious freedom but merely protecting the Church’s faithful from Moscow propaganda.
Lavra reserve head estimates damage to Dormition Cathedral at €15 million
Maksym Ostapenko said restoring the Dormition Cathedral would take at least a couple of years and require major funding.
DESS official says state should not govern the Church
A DESS official called for cooperation between the state and the Church for the benefit of citizens.
Poltava court upholds mobilization of Protestant pastor
A court in the Poltava region ruled that a prior criminal conviction and religious beliefs do not exempt a person from military service.