The OCU can offer a way to solve the problem of subordination of parishes in the diaspora, said religious scholar Dmitry Horyevoy in “Detector. Religions”, writes RP.

The OCU, in his opinion, can bypass the conditions of the Tomos from Istanbul and declare all Ukrainian foreign parishes as their own courtyards, that is, the diplomatic missions of the “Kyiv Metropolis”.

“Not a single local Church is forbidden to have courtyards abroad to represent itself. Since the diaspora is no one’s canonical territory, it is not necessary to coordinate this with anyone,” the expert explained.

According to the second path suggested by the expert, the Tomos can be bypassed as follows: “A general Synod is convened, or a meeting of representatives of the OCU and the Ecumenical Patriarchate to discuss the issue of Ukrainian parishes abroad. From the Ukrainian side, a model of the Greek Church can be proposed. This is when the parishes are under the administrative jurisdiction of the OCU, but under the spiritual subordination of Constantinople.”

“In practice, this means that Ukrainian priests will serve there, who are directly subordinate to Metropolitan Epiphany as a self-governing bishop, but spiritually they commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch at the Divine Service, as well as this exists in Northern Greece,” Horyevoy said.

Obviously, these ideas were influenced by a loud scandal in the USA and Europe, where a number of parishes refused to go under the Phanar.