Resolutions of the Summer Session of the UAOC Holy Synod

God only knows how I missed this, but this past July a session of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), the second largest schismatic group active in the Ukraine, mandated that the First Hierarch of the UAOC commemorate Patriarch Bartholomew in all the services he celebrates to ensure the unity of the UAOC with worldwide Orthodoxy and show its desire for the full communion of a united, autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Local Orthodox Churches.

The Holy Synod reaffirmed the absence of communion between the UAOC and the Kiev Patriarchate, the largest schism in the Ukraine, in the hope that this too would speed the establishment of an independent Local Orthodox Church in the Ukraine. The Holy Synod also agreed with the proposal of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church to establish a dialogue commission on the current issues dividing Orthodoxy in the Ukraine. Like I said, quite an eventful meeting and somehow I didn't manage to post anything about it until now! The Holy Synod's resolutions can be found in full here.

Pictured is the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle in Kiev, Ukraine, which serves as the cathedra of the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine of the UAOC. The church was built on the site where St. Andrew is said to have planted a cross during his brief visit to what today is the Ukraine. Somewhat ironically considering the strong anti-Russian nationalism found in much of the UAOC, modern St. Andrew's was built with monies provided by Empress Elizabeth I of Russia, who personally laid its foundation stone.