21.05.2007, [10:21] // UOC-MP // RISU.ORG.UA
Kyiv – On 17 May 2007, Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), participated in ceremonies connected with the signing of the “Act of Canonical Communion” of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA) at the Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The signing of the act was completed with a Divine Liturgy celebrated by Patriarch Alexis II, head of the ROC, together with Metropolitan Volodymyr and other hierarchs of the Moscow Patriarchate.
According to unian.net, most bishops of the parishes of the ROCA in emigration broke ties with the highest church authorities of the Moscow Patriarchate in the 1920s. They did not want any relations with what they called “Stalin’s church.” After World War II the center of the ROCA was moved from Serbia, where it was founded, to New York. Parishes of the ROCA appeared in Canada, the U.S., Australia, and some European countries, including Ukraine. In Ukraine the ROCA has 30 parishes and one women’s monastery.
Most representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate positively assess the event. However, according to unian.net, the majority of priests of the ROCA oppose the union.
Sources and previous related RISU news:
• http://www.unian.net/ukr/news/news-195946.html
• http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;15769/