The newly appointed secretary of the vicariate of the UOC-KP in the USA and Canada, Bohdan Zgoba, made a public appeal to the supporters of the OCU as part of the structure in the diaspora. He recalled that Filaret Denisenko appointed him as a new secretary after the previous head of the vicariate, Viktor Polyarny, actually announced his transfer to the OCU, informs the website of the Kyivan Patriarchate.

“In order not to leave the Ukrainian flock without the possibility of leadership and development in missionary activity, His Holiness Patriarch Filaret appointed me, his humble novice, as the new secretary of the Vicariate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate in the USA and Canada…

The commandment of love is “two-sided” and calls on all of us to show love and mercy not only to our friends, but also to our enemies. Such love that the authors of the Tomos of Autocephaly of the OCU showed, leaving the more than 20 million Ukrainian community across all continents without visible signs of this virtue. I say this, citing the text of the Tomos as proof, which prescribes spiritual power over all of us of that jurisdiction, which is not native for us, and not desirable … Thus, they tried to tear us away uncompromisingly  from the capital, our Kyiv – our Jerusalem.

“That is why Archpriest Victor Polyarny, who declares that he is coming under the direct subordination of the Primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epiphany of Kyiv, is grossly mistaken. After all, no one is waiting for him there. The OCU is limited by the letter of the Tomos and does not have the courage to raise the issue of the Ukrainian diaspora before Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew”, – Bohdan Zgoba recalled.

He also suggested toViktor Polyarny to repent and return to Filaret, because the UOC-KP is the only option for this structure to maintain ties with Ukraine.