In a letter to Metropolitan Onufrij, who leads the UOK, which is threatened with a ban, the Kiev Metropolitan, as head of the OKU, emphasises the need for unity and reconciliation among Orthodox Christians in Ukraine, according to the "Orthodox Times" (Friday).
Metropolitan Epiphanius is the first head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was founded in 2018. Initially, the church was directly subordinate to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and was granted autocephalous status by Constantinople a few weeks later.
The two churches are now in competition with each other. The UOC claims legitimacy for itself and criticises the occupation of churches such as the OKU, which it considers to be inadequate in terms of canon law.
After Epiphanius visited Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul on Tuesday with high-ranking members of the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian media reported that the Patriarch supported the "spiritual independence" of Ukraine demanded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This refers to the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which is affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate until May 2022.
Doubts about secession
The government in Kiev is questioning the UOC's decision to break away from the Moscow Patriarchate. Authorities are also repeatedly accusing clergy of collaborating with Moscow.
However, the UOK church leadership has always rejected the accusations of collaboration.
However, several bishops and priests have already been sentenced to prison and some have been handed over to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange programme.
The Ukrainian parliament is currently continuing to work on a ban on the UOK. It is to be put to the vote next week and provides for the banning of all religious organisations with links to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Most recently, President Selensky also referred to this by calling for the complete "spiritual independence" of Ukraine. Around 10,000 parishes and most of the country's monasteries belong to the traditional UOK.
The buildings, such as the famous Kiev Cave Monastery, are often owned by the state.
According to a parliamentary statement, the draft law also provides for new measures in this area.
Western observers are warning Ukraine that a complete ban on the UOK would massively violate religious freedom.