Shevchuk: There Is No Longer Interest in Unia as a Bridge Between Catholicism and Orthodoxy

Catholic Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk [CREDIT: Oleksandr Sawranskij]

LVIV — On September 26, 2025, at a theological forum of the Uniate Church held at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Sviatoslav Shevchuk, declared that the concept of the Unia as a “bridge between East and West” is outdated, since neither side needs mediators anymore.

He noted that for many years the Unia was spoken of as a bridge or mediator between the Catholic West and the Orthodox East—at least by Uniates themselves and their masters in the Vatican. “But now we are told that East and West no longer need intermediaries. They can perfectly well speak with each other about us, without us,” the Uniate leader complained. According to him, the “bridge” concept was problematic from the beginning, because “it has no identity of its own — everyone just walks across it.”

Instead of this outdated model, Shevchuk proposed that Uniate theologians develop the concept of a “theology of the Local Kyivan Church.” He outlined three perspectives of such an approach: “a view from Rome,” “a view from Lviv to Kyiv” (meaning the relocation of the primate’s residence to the Ukrainian capital), and “a view from Kyiv,” which has been evolving since the creation of the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). “It is time to return home and feel ourselves part of the Local Kyivan Church,” Shevchuk urged.

He placed special emphasis on the ecumenical nature of this proposed theology. “Such theology is by nature open. It is ecumenical, because we are also inviting our Orthodox brothers to join in shared theological reflection,” he said.

According to Shevchuk, the establishment of the OCU has opened new opportunities for theological dialogue and union on Ukrainian soil. In this context, he mentioned his message "Our Holy Sophia," written after the granting of autocephaly to the OCU.

Earlier, UOJ-America cited Shevchuk’s comment that the Uniates, together with the OCU, are reviving the ancient center of Christianity in Kyiv.

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