Eastern Orthodoxy is the primary religion in Ukraine; however, there are three major Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine: Ukrainian Orthodox Church -- Moscow Patriarchate; Ukrainian Orthodox Church -- Kiev Patriarchate; and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Each of these jurisdictions considers itself to be the "true" Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The fact is that these three jurisdictions need to get together soon -- and exchange some serious Christ-inspired dialogue -- with a determination to unite these jurisdictions into one harmonious Orthodox Christian jurisdiction. Incredible as it seems, achieving this goal will result in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church becoming the largest jurisdiction in the entire Orthodox Church (an honor now held by Russia).
Ukrainian President Yushchenko believes Ukraine should have one national church. Recently, on a Ukrainian TV channel, he said, "A nation which is not united by faith...hard to say what it can be united in."
Archbishop Makarii of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church recently told the Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU) website that the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox jurisdictions will occur with prayer, as God can do it very unexpectedly. He said unification can happen the same way the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 -- instantly and unexpectedly.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment