On August 6, on the premises of the UNIAN agency (Khreshchatyk, 4) the totals of the visit of His Holiness the Patriarch to Ukraine were summarized by Executive Administrator of the UOC Archbishop Mytrofan of Bila Tserkva and Bohuslav, who headed the commission on organization of the visit, and Press-Secretary for the Primate of the UOC, head of the Press-Service of the Patriarch’s Visit archpriest George Kovalenko.
Having reminded in brief of the actions in the course of the visit, Vladyka Mytrofan noted that on the whole the visit was a success. The Patriarch visited 7 dioceses and 9 monasteries, so he had an opportunity to communicate with believers from different parts of Ukraine.
Answering the journalists' question concerning the next Patriarch’s visit to Ukraine Archbishop Mytrofan answered that taking into account the tight schedule of the Patriarch’s journeys throughout Russia and abroad, it will take place not earlier than next year.
The journalists also asked questions about the meeting with the representatives of the UOC-KP, to which Vladyka answered: “We need certain grounds to meet with them, because for the day we may meet only those who represent a certain canonical structure. By the present, the Kyivan Patriarchate has got no canonical status which could allow our Patriarch to meet with their head. At the same time he noted that “all of you know that Patriarch Philaret is excommunicated from the Church and is not the member of the Orthodox Church. Therefore Patriarch Kirill could not have met with this person.” Archbishop Mytrofan also added: “Though, His Holiness the Patriarch does not deny in principle a possibility of meeting and communication, or some kind of discussion in future with representatives of the other schismatic groupings”.
Geographical broadness of the visit was accounted for by the timing of memorable dates, thought it was mostly conditioned by the Patriarch’s desire to see the religious situation in Ukraine on the whole and to talk with people.
As for the question of the second citizenship, which Patriarch Kirill allegedly wanted to acquire, Archbishop Mytrofan explained the context in which these words sounded, and noted it was half a joke, since His Holiness is well-informed and understands that the laws of Ukraine will not be changed for him, and now they do not provide the status of second citizenship for the citizens of Ukraine.
Yet again the situation with autocephaly was clarified: Vladyka Mytrofan states that the rumors that in the Church there is an extraordinary big party striving by all means to achieve autocephaly, do not correspond to reality. Also the speaker noted that the Patriarch’s visit shows that the discussions on this issue are premature, because the number of people who do not agree to accept autocephaly and want to stay in the fold of the Russian Orthodox Church is extremely high. “At present we are satisfied with the status the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has”, he summed up.
The suspicions of journalists of the political underpinning of the visit, roused by the fact that the Patriarch was met in Kyiv and Donetsk by the leader of the Party of Regions Victor Yanukovych, were disproved by the speakers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it was noted that the presence of Victor Yanukovyh at the meeting with His Holiness was involved with the fact that “he is a believing man”. Also the Patriarch’s words were mentioned that the Church is outside politics and does not support any political organization, since the basic mission of the Church is to witness the God’s truth.
“This visit made us understand that the solution of the problem of schism in Orthodoxy in Ukraine is to be found in the spiritual plane”, Vladyka Mytrofan underscored, appealing to the Patriarch’s words that the Church unity should not be sacrificed for the sake of achievement of certain political interests.
At the end of the press-conference archpriest George Kovalenko stated: “We saw the Patriarch of the 21st century, a man who can address a large audience and hold attention of these people, can communicate during the TV-broadcast for hours. This man does not restrict himself to the specifically church problems; he addresses the society on the whole. It is for the firs time that we have heard the direct speech of the Patriarch on such a large scale. It is important for us not to view all that in the light of our political interests and Ukrainian problems. As we have heard, the Patriarch addressed Europe as well. He touched upon the problems of common concern for the whole humanity.” Finally Fr. George advised everyone to read or listen again to the Patriarch’s words said during the visit, since one can draw lot of helpful from them.
