No more than 4% of Ukrainians support Moscow Patriarchate, says OCU Metropolitan Epiphanius
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“The OCU is supported by 55% of our fellow citizens, while the ROC is backed by no more than 4%,” he said, commenting on the mass switch of ROC parishes to the OCU.
Read also: OCU Metropolitan Epiphanius announces plan to screen priests who switch from Moscow Patriarchate
According to Epiphanius, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine has lost three quarters of its support and continues to lose it, as shown in social surveys.
“It’s much easier for ordinary parishioners to make their wish come true – they simply stop going to churches where the Moscow Patriarchate serves,” he said.
“But when it comes to the clergy and parishes, it’s more difficult, as there are legal procedures and dependence on the system. Parishes leave the ROC under the procedure provided for in the law. But the clergy leave the ROC less than the parishes.”
Read also: Vast majority of Ukrainians support banning Russian Orthodox Church, survey shows
Epiphanius explained that it is difficult for priests to break their subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate.
“Some are afraid of punishment, some find it difficult to admit that earlier they taught about the ‘non-canonicality’ of the OCU, and now they must unite,” the OCU head said.
“Some confuse the unity of the Church of Christ and the unity of the ROC structure, mistakenly thinking that leaving the Moscow Patriarchate is the same as leaving the Church. Some hope that the wave of popular indignation will subside, and they will continue to live as they lived, fooling people and themselves that they don’t serve the ROC when they remain in its structure, and that all the current events are just some artificial campaign in the media, and not a real shift in public consciousness.”
As of March 2023, more than 50% of Ukrainians in every region of the country considered the ROC activities to be a factor that contributed to the Russian invasion, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center non-governmental think tank.
At least 70% of Ukrainians would support a complete ban of the ROC in the country, according to a survey conducted by Ukrainian polling company Gradus Research on April 13-14.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
