In an interview with RISU, archimandrite Cyril (Hovorun), a supernumerary clergyman of the Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, spoke about his forecasts regarding the obligatory transition of the hierarchs of the canonical UOC to the Phanar project in Ukraine and expressed regret that “the bishops missed their chance” in 2018.
“I believe that this was a historic chance that the bishops of the UOC lost. If they had not been frightened then and showed great determination – like metropolitan Simeon or metropolitan Alexander – and came – as they wanted, promised, and declared – to the Council, then the changes in the OCU would have been even more radical, radical and more positive. I would say. It was a historic chance to turn the tide in a very simple and easy way.
Why didn’t they take this chance? This is a difficult question and there is obviously no one answer to it. Here, of course, there was intimidation, there were bribery, there were abductions – various forms of pressure, but there was also the usual inner fear living in many bishops: “What will I lose and I will gain?” What if I lose much more than I can ever gain. This is pure pragmatism, which also played a role.
It seems to me that sooner or later these bishops (well, who will live) will return to this issue, again they will have this dilemma: to go to the new Church or not to go, but then they will solve this dilemma from much worse positions. Then they will no longer be participants in this fundamental Council, not the “Fathers” of the Church, but will be fosters. These are completely different things and statuses. The chance to become the founding fathers of the Church, to which sooner or later they will belong, was very ineptly lost by the bishops of the UOC,” says the cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“There is no longer a canonical and theological meaning for the existence of the UOC! When its members – priests, bishops – will begin to realize that apart from hysteria and self-hypnosis, there are no more reasons for separate existence. When they begin to realize this, it will undoubtedly open the way to reunification,” says archimandrite Cyril (Hovorun).