PUBLIC DEBATE BETWEEN THE UOC (MP) AND THE OCU: DIFFERENCES AND PATHWAYS FOR DIALOGUE

Abstract

The relevance of this research topic stems from the high public interest in the issue of relations between the OCU and the UOC (MP) in Ukraine. An analysis of the issues surrounding the differences between these religious denominations in the context of a full-scale war is particularly important for understanding the fundamental differences between the positions of the two largest Orthodox denominations in Ukraine. The study is based on materials from an interview published by “LIGA.net” in 2024, featuring Metropolitan Klyment, head of the Information and Education Department of the UOC (MP), as well as Oleksandr (Drabinko), Metropolitan of Pereyaslav and Vyshneve of the OCU. Also taken into account are materials from a debate of a similar format published by the media outlet “Suspilne Chernivtsi” in 2025, where the speakers were Priest Vasyl Kovtash, rector of the OCU church in the village of Ringachi, Chernivtsi Oblast, and Priest Ioan Verenka, rector of the church in the village of Milieve, Chernivtsi Oblast. These two episodes directly reflect the intra-denominational positions of the UOC (MP) and the OCU, allowing us to examine the issues of disagreement and the search for avenues of dialogue between them from the perspective of the representation of each side’s fundamental positions. In addition, as part of the study to assess the validity of Metropolitan Clement’s arguments from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), the main comments of the Main Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding draft law No. 8371 of January 19, 2023, which provides for restrictions on the activities of religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in Moscow, were summarized. Based on the analyzed material, a number of fundamental contradictions in the interaction between the two religious organizations were identified. Factors that exacerbate these contradictions were identified. The specific nature of each side’s arguments was determined. Pathways for dialogue between the OCU and the UOC (MP) were examined.