On April 13, 2023, the “primate” of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine addressed the people to assure them that the OCU Church has never been subordinate to politicians.

“By assisting the development of the Local Church, we are grateful to all political forces, regardless of whether they represent power or opposition in a certain period of history. But not a single political force, party or individual leader can and will not have any exclusive or even controlling role in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” the “hierarch” claims.

“Neither Petro Poroshenko, nor any other politician, regardless of whether he represents the government or the opposition, plays any exclusive role in the life of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine that would give anyone reason to associate these names in such a context with our Local Church,” Epifaniy added.

At the end of the address, Dumenko emphasized that “not a single Ukrainian politician had and does not have control over the position and decisions of the Church.”