Metropolitan Epifaniy stated that he is ready to meet with Onufriy, the head of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, emphasizing that the OCU is open to dialogue. He pointed out that it has already been many years since the issuance of the Tomos on autocephaly and expressed hope for the possibility of a meeting. However, the metropolitan noted that over the past two years they have not crossed paths, as Onufriy participates in state events quite rarely.
“We are always ready to meet, but we expect that it will soon be seven years since the issuance of the Tomos on autocephaly. We have made a lot of various appeals. At first, we even met and crossed paths with Metropolitan Onufriy at various state events, but now he does not participate in any state events. And therefore, over the past two years, we have not met even once,” emphasized Epifaniy.
The metropolitan also noted that Onufriy remains steadfast in his position regarding communication with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
A Liturgy in the Ukrainian language was held in the Kyrylivska Church under the leadership of His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, which was the first in the last ten years. He emphasized the importance of the Ukrainian people maintaining their identity in contrast to conquests and contextually included the recent words of the Pope about Ukraine.