UOC takes new step toward separation from Moscow Patriarchate, ROC says church unity jeopardized

MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax) - The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has made a decision that can be seen as a step toward separation from the Moscow Patriarchate, as from now on, the holy myrrh used in church services is planned to be produced directly in Kiev, not Moscow, as required by church rules.

"The Synod has set up a relevant commission that will work on restoring myrrh production in Kiev. The commission is headed by Bishop Viktor of Artsyz, the vicar of the Odessa Eparchy," the UOC's information and educational department said on Wednesday.

The Synod noted that the myrrh production in the Kiev Metropolitan Church had historically begun in the middle of the 15th century. The holy myrrh was later produced in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This practice was halted in Ukraine due to the 1917 revolutions.

At a meeting of the UOC Council on May 27, 2022, where its independence from the Moscow Patriarchate was proclaimed, the issue of resuming myrrh production in Kiev was addressed. "Given this, the Holy Synod has decided to resume myrrh production in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the Synod said in a statement following the meeting.

The Moscow Patriarchate saw this as a threat to church unity and doubted that the decision would help the UOC avoid searches and bans.

"Once upon a time, before the October Revolution, myrrh was brewed and sanctified in Kiev, and it was not seen as a threat to the unity of the church. But in today's context, of course, this decision looks like another gesture of alienation. Will it help our brothers avoid persecution, searches, initiating criminal cases, and attempts at a total ban? I don't think so," Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, an advisor to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, told Interfax on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, "counterintelligence measures" had been taken at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and UOC facilities in the Rovno region, during which law enforcers searched for saboteurs, foreigners and weapons. At the same time, it was reported that the Verkhovna Rada had registered a bill banning the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.