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Russian Orthodox Church takes over Berdyansk diocese

The Russian Church has taken advantage of the escape of the current head of the UOC-MP diocese.

Russian Orthodox Church takes over Berdyansk diocese
Photo: EPA/UPG

The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has accepted the Berdyansk diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under its canonical and administrative subordination.

The Synod published this decision on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"To accept the Berdyansk diocese into direct canonical and administrative subordination to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, with this decision to be submitted to the Council of Bishops," it said in Journal #30.

According to the Russian Orthodox Church, the reason for this decision was the appeal by 76 of 86 clergymen from the Berdyansk diocese of the UOC with a corresponding request because the current head of the diocese, Metropolitan Yefrem, left Russian-occupied Berdyansk and allegedly refused to perform his duties.

The Russians appointed Bishop Luka of Iskitim and Cherepanovo as the new head of the diocese.

According to LB.ua's sources, Metropolitan Yefrem of Berdyansk and Prymorsk fled to Russia on 26 April and then went to Europe. According to the Statute of the UOC-MP, the current archbishop has no right to leave the see without the permission of the primate for more than 14 days. However, the punishment for this is not specified.

After Yefrem's escape, Archimandrite Dimitriy from the Kuybyshev church district of the Berdyansk diocese took over the leadership of the diocese without the consent of the UOC leadership. He organised the clergy's appeal to Patriarch Kirill to take the diocese under the omophorion of the Russian Orthodox Church.

However, according to LB.ua, only four representatives of the UOC-MP actually supported the appeal: Archimandrite Dimitriy; the secretary of the Berdyansk diocese, rector of the Holy Trinity Church, Archpriest Serhiy (Ilyushchenko); the priest of the Holy Trinity Church in Prymorsk, Archpriest Dmytro (Lebedchenko); and the rector of the Berdyansk Church of the New Martyrs, Archpriest Yevhen (Klymenko).

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