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Metropolitan Bishop Onuphrius and His First Steps

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Metropolitan Bishop Onuphrius and His First Steps Was There an Alternative? Metropolitan Bishop Onuphrius and His First Steps by Nikolay Mitrokhin, Research Center for East European Studies, Bremen Abstract After the death of its long-serving leader, Metropolitan Bishop Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate chose a new leader in August 2014. The election was accompanied by internal church disputes regarding the future orientation of the church, and in particular the degree of independence from Moscow. The new head of church, Metropolitan Bishop Onuphrius (Beresovsky) from Chernivtsi, is pursuing a balanced approach. his article is based on interviews which I tocephaly.” Members of these communities Tconducted in early October 2014 with two have ceased praying liturgies to the Moscow dozen high ranking clergymen from the Ukrai- Patriarchate for two decades, and there are no nian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate plaques to be found in these churches to indi- (UOC–MP) and with a few religious experts in cate that they belong to the MP.. Part of the in- Kiev associated with the current church struc- ner circle of the former Metropolitan Bishop, ture. We essentially spoke about the current who himself had undergone a serious evolu- situation of the UOC–MP and about the first tion, having turned from Moscow’s vicar of steps of its new head, Metropolitan Bishop fictitious autonomy into an actual ideologist Onuphrius (Beresovsky), who was elected on advocating a peaceful separation from Mos- the 13th of August. Due to the fact that the in- cow, also supports these views. terviewees are in potential danger of attack, I The majority of the parishes in the central, will not cite their names or any other concrete northern, eastern, and far-western parts of the details which could compromise their ano- country (Transcarpathia) are entirely satisfied nymity. with the UOC’s current autonomous status. The former leader of the UOC–MP, Metropoli- The Church actually has full freedom in deci- tan Bishop Vladimir (Sabodan), who passed sions of internal personnel and administrative away on the 5th of July after nine months in questions; it no longer pays any church taxes a coma, has left behind an ambivalent legacy. to Moscow, and is independently building The UOC–MP is the strongest Ukrainian reli- relationships with secular authorities. In any gious organization with more than 13,000 par- case, when the Eparch of the Orthodox dio- ishes, which, in terms of numbers, dominate cese of Cherkasy (in the center of the country) the competing Orthodox churches in practical- recently emerged as a fervent proponent of ly all regions of Ukraine, to exclude three Gali- autocephaly and carried out a survey among cian regions. However, the Church appears to the priests, only slightly more than half of be divided into three pieces with regard to its them supported his position1. This is to say ideologies. nothing of the dioceses, in which the leaders Many parishes of the west and, partially, are not as strongly in support of the present central regions of Ukraine desire to form an idea. I n light of this question, Metropolitan organizational separation from the Moscow Bishop Vladimir’s position corresponded to Patriarchate composed of these three points 1 http://censor.net.ua/news/300120/upts_ of view and to attain so-called “canonical au- mp_na_cherkasschine_poslushalas_prihojan_i_ne_ pominaet_patriarha_kirilla_na_bogoslujeniyah Euxeinos 17/ 2015 13 Nikolay Mitrokhin the expectations of those supporting the status particularly at the conflict between the closest quo, who do not refuse autocephaly at some person to the deceased Metropolitan Bishop— indefinite point in the future. the young Metropolitan Bishop Alexander A third group of parishes, priests, and bishops (Drabinko; born in 1977), whose image was remain in categorical opposition of the schism significantly burdened by the various scan- with Moscow and the widening of autonomy. dals—and the greatest authority among those Part of this group ignores the fact that the close to Vladimir—the church administrator, Ukrainian Orthodox Church even exists, be- Metropolitan Bishop Antony (Pakanich; born lieving it to belong exclusively to the Russian in 1967), who is the second person to occupy Church. A large portion of these parishes (or the post of administrator of church affairs. priests and bishops with similar views, which Both of these figures are behind the boundar- by far are not in agreement with the senti- ies of Ukraine and little-known, because their ments of the parishioners) was in the eastern influence on church life in the UOC was only and southern regions of the country, mostly in determined within the last decade, but secular major cities. Nevertheless, ideological propo- Ukrainian journalism has not abandoned its nents of the “Russian World” or the Russian attention towards them. Orthodox Church can be met with among the Besides these personal differences, both fig- clergy in rural areas as much as in the cities. ures were divided in their approach to the The strategy of the Kiev Metropolitan Bishop future of the UOC-MP as well. Alexander had already been laid down two decades be- (Drabinko) was and remains unpopular with- fore. It was based around the binding together in the church but, along with this, he made an of all three parts of the Church in ignorance of influential impact on the few episcopates who their orientation with external political struc- were personally obligated to him. He more or tures. This was and is being achieved through less had declared himself to be a supporter of a considerable decentralization of the church autocephaly (if not now, then in the near fu- and the reconciliation of a complex balance of ture) and tried to form an image of himself at interests. One is initially left with an impres- the hands of the secular press as a Ukrainian sion of total chaos for the living representative patriot. In Moscow, amongst a small circle of of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, clergy and laity concerned with Ukrainian is- who is accustomed to clear-cut discipline and sues, his name was long associated with the hierarchy, as well as external unanimity of “betrayal of church interests.” Metropolitan church “speakers” and the media. Bishop Antony, taking on a responsible and The situation became more complicated after laborious imperative, preferred to preserve the death of Metropolitan Bishop Vladimir as more normal working relationships, both a result of the fact that he had passed away with Moscow and Yanukovich’s team, saving without having nominated an evident succes- the discussion of the church’s future “for lat- sor. Those who could pretend to have the most er,” which is to say for a time when he would correct interpretation of his ideas and who, become a representative and would gain the earlier on, had held tense relations with one freedom to act. Nevertheless, the people be- another had now “broken away” and estab- longing to his circle did not hide their views, lished a public squabble, attracting state de- goals, and sympathies. They hoped that Met- partments and the secular media. I am looking ropolitan Bishop Antony would begin seri- Euxeinos 17/2015 14 Nikolay Mitrokhin ous and deep reforms in the UOC-MP at the tightly connected with Yanukovich’s people, very minimum, to include the further mod- retracted himself from these games and spent ernization and Ukrainization of the Church. a significant part of the year abroad. In a strug- “Heavyweights” from the old pro-Moscow gle between ideological parties, having begun guard emerged from church leadership as op- long before the death of Metropolitan Bishop ponents of the “Ukrainophiles”. These “heavy- Vladimir, no one seriously recognized the pos- weights” are established members of the Holy sibility that an independent player would ap- Synod: Metropolitan Bishop Illarion (Shu- pear. Yet church history has taught us that a kalo) of Donetsk, Metropolitan Bishop Aga- mediator possesses the greatest opportunities fangel (Savvin) of Odessa, and Metropolitan in an era of crises and heated debate. More- Bishop Pavel (Lebed‘), head of the Kiev Cave over, the death of the old representative and Monastery, where the seat of the Kiev Metro- the choices of the new one have coincided with politan Diocese is located. However, if it had the most aggravated period of political debate been possible to suggest ten or fifteen years in the meagre 25 years that Ukraine has existed ago that Moscow, garnered with the support as an independent state. However, the victory of Yanukovich, would be able to push one of of the Ukrainian revolution has paradoxically these men into the primary position of leader- had a negative impact on the possibilities of ship in the Church, then it has become clear the pro-Ukrainian party taking power in the within the last few years that this proposition UOC-MP. Journalists sympathizing with Met- could not even theoretically come to pass. The ropolitan Bishop Aleksander accused Metro- overwhelming majority of potential electoral politan Bishop Antony of collaborating with delegates were hand-picked in an already in- Yanukovych. The supporters of Metropolitan dependent Ukraine and were considered “old Bishop Antony battled with the followers of ones” (with the exception of the frequently ill, Metropolitan Bishop Aleksander, who had but relatively young Metropolitan Bishop Pav- committed many more sins from the church’s el), surviving relics of the age. This applied all point of view – so many more that Aleksander the more when the three Metropolitan Bishops decided to not run as a successor himself and had to fundamentally reconsider their conduct has decided to form a party of supporters of in the summer of 2014. Under threat of legal autocephaly under the leadership of the expe- persecution for complicity in the organiza- rienced, though provincial Metropolitan Bish- tion of mass unrest in Odessa and the escape op Simeon (Shostatsky).
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