Ukraine, Orthodoxy, and the
Greek Prelate
— By Bishop Paul Peter Jesep
Archbishop Bartholomew of Constantinople wants to broker an
ecclesiastical peace among the Orthodox. He is concerned that a national
Ukrainian Orthodox Church will bask in God's sunshine without the paternal
guidance of the Moscow Patriarchate. There is a fundamental fact that the
Archbishop must recognize. A free nation is entitled to its own spiritually
sovereign church.
In a congratulatory letter to Viktor Yushchenko he said that
the Mother Church of Christ is "pleased to convey to Your Excellency our
satisfaction on your election to the Presidency of Ukraine." Good for the
Archbishop that he approves. Ukrainians are also "satisfied" having
been oppressed, brutalized and culturally marginalized for centuries by foreign
religious and political authorities.
He further wrote that "We are painfully aware and
saddened by the present crises of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, the faith of the
forefathers of the Ukrainian people. As we have expressed repeatedly our
concerns about the unacceptable disunity within Orthodoxy in Ukraine, we have
also repeatedly expressed our readiness to assist to ameliorate this painful
situation."
The Archbishop added that it "seems that it is most
propitious as this junction to initiate the process of healing this disunity,
and the Great Church of Christ, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is ready to render
any assistance in this endeavor."
His Holiness Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church Kyiv Patriarchate, leader of 30 million faithful worldwide, is doing
that which the Greek prelate supports. Patriarch Filaret is a Godly activist
who tirelessly tries to gather the whole flock away from the looming northern
shadow that embodies the Russification of Ukrainian culture, language and
spirituality. His Holiness should be public applauded for furthering the
spiritual dignity and honor of his country.
The Archbishop's concern of unity is easy to obtain. All it
takes is a sincere respect for Ukraine's sovereignty - not just on political
matters, but on spiritual ones as well. Historically, Ukraine never wanted to
be spirituality subordinate to Moscow. Military conquest made it an inevitability.
Today a free people have the ability to choose not only their political
destiny, but their spiritual fate as well. Ukraine has spoken loudly on both
matters.
Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow must be reminded, with much
Christian patience, that all are equal before God. His discomfort with an
emerging Ukrainian spirituality suggests that Russian Orthodoxy is more valued
before the Creator. This is incorrect. God loves and accepts all children
equally.
Recently, the Moscow prelate sanctioned use of armed guards
at Ukrainian sites still under his administrative authority. He showed the
spiritual insecurity to call Orthodox branches, which refuse submission to
Moscow, schismatics. Not surprisingly, he also expressed contempt for Byzantine
Catholics.
The Russian prelate said, "Unfortunately, schismatics
and Uniates were among those who actively supported the opposition candidate,
who has now been elected president." It's time the Russian prelate face
reality. Ukrainian faithful need not ask anyone's permission on how best to
walk with God.
Ultimately, whether an ethnic outsider considers a branch of
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, especially the Kyiv Patriarchate of 30 million
faithful or our Byzantine Catholic brothers and sisters, "canonical"
is irrelevant. Ukrainians answer to God and conscience, not foreign religious
and political leaders.
Archbishop Bartholomew wrote to President-elect Yushchenko
that "We are constantly praying to Almighty God to bless the
long-suffering nation of Ukraine with peace, justice, prosperity and freedom
for all its citizens." I agree. Actions, however, speak louder than words.
The continued spiritual Russification of a free people is unacceptable.
Archbishop Bartholomew, having called the faithful to unite, must educate non-Ukrainian
Orthodox leaders to respect Ukraine's spiritual sovereignty, cultural integrity
and emerging national consciousness.
“Stripped of a gown,
In thorny pain your head was placed,
To a cross they nailed their cruelty.
In vain, they spat to sully your purity!
But clean as gold upon the earth you were,
You rose in the souls of men and women in
truth and faith…”
-Taras Shevchenko
Bishop Paul Peter Jesep is Chancellor of the Archeparchy and Vicar General of Public Affairs and Government Relations for the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church-Sobornopravna (UAOC-S). In the past, His Grace a lawyer and political scientist by training, served on the staff of U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). He has studied at Bangor Theological Seminary (bts.edu), the third oldest such school in the United States. Bishop Jesep may be reached at VladykaPaulPeter(at)aol.com. The views expressed here are strictly personal