OCU cleric urges not to treat monasticism like a "sacred relic"

Andriy Dudchenko believes monasticism may disappear. Photo: Facebook Dudchenko

Andriy Dudchenko, a cleric of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in Kyiv, stated that monasticism could cease to exist because it is a "human institution, not a divine one." He also remarked that monasticism should not be treated as a "sacred relic."

Dudchenko made these comments in response to a post by UOC deacon Andriy Hlushchenko, who analyzed the number of monks in the OCU, UOC, UGCC, RCC, and other Orthodox Churches.

Hlushchenko cited 2021 statistics (subsequent reports ceased to include monastic data), showing:

• UOC: 4,681 monks
• UGCC: 1,055
• RCC (in Ukraine): 717
• OCU: 233

He also provided data from other Orthodox Churches:

• Romanian: 8,000 (19 million population)
• Serbian: 1,300 (6.6 million)
• Greek (excluding Mount Athos): 3,500 [Athos: 1,500] (10.4 million)
• Georgian: 1,500 (3.7 million)
• Macedonian: 100 (2 million)
• Bulgarian: 300 (6.4 million)

Hlushchenko concluded: "When comparing the number of monks in the OCU – 233 – with other traditional Orthodox Churches, the obvious conclusion is that in the OCU, monasticism is not merely 'unpopular'; the institution of monasticism is practically non-existent."

OCU representatives who commented on the post disagreed with this conclusion.

Publicist Tetyana Derkach argued that "no monasticism is better than the kind in the UOC." "Priest" Serhiy Berezhnyi claimed that "the number of monks in the UOC does not reflect the quality of their monastic life." Publicist Volodymyr Volkovskyi suggested that the OCU’s minimal number of monks is because "the OCU does not imitate a collective farm."

Previously, the UOJ reported that the OCU tends to avoid highlighting the fact that it has almost no "monks" within its structure.

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