Serbian Orthodox Priest: There Is Only One Canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine — The UOC

MONTENEGRO — Slobodan Zeković, archpriest and dean of the Bar district as well as rector of the Cathedral of St. John Vladimir in Bar, served the Divine Liturgy on August 11, 2025.

After the service, he addressed the assembled faithful, speaking about the Holy Mysteries and canonical Orthodox Churches.

“In this holy temple, thanks be to God, people gather from all directions. Not only from Bar, but from all over Montenegro, from Serbia, the Republic of Srpska, as well as our dear friends and guests who come from other countries. As you know, all the Holy Mysteries in the Orthodox Church — first and foremost the Holy Communion, as the greatest sacrament in which we receive only the most pure Body and most precious Blood of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ — can be received only by those who are baptized in the canonical Orthodox Church.”

He noted an instance when a woman who was not a member of a canonical Orthodox Church wished to receive the Holy Communion.

“We love and respect the Armenian people greatly, but the Armenian Church does not belong to the family of Orthodox Churches. They belong to the Christian community of the Monophysites. Monophysite communities do not have liturgical communion with the Orthodox Churches, so members of the Armenian Church and other Monophysite churches cannot receive the Holy Mysteries in the Orthodox Church. Holy Communion can only be received by those baptized in the canonical Orthodox Church.”

Father Slobodan also reflected on the great tragedy that has shaken the Russian and Ukrainian peoples for years, while offering support to the UOC and Metropolitan Onuphry.

“In our city, many people come from Ukraine. Ukraine has been suffering for years in a bloody war, and we deeply sympathize with the suffering of people all over the world, especially when Orthodox peoples suffer. We are deeply pained by the wounds of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples and all other peoples who today suffer in war conflicts.”

“In Ukraine, there is only one canonical Orthodox Church, and that is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv.”

“Both priests and faithful who belong to the community of Epiphany Dumenko cannot receive Communion in the churches of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because our local Serbian Orthodox Church considers that community to be schismatic.”

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