German UOC Parish Transfers to Ecumenical Patriarchate

Fr. Serhiy Tymoshchuk, rector of the parish in Erfurt. Photo: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Erfurt/Facebook

ERFURT, GERMANY — The Nativity of Christ community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Erfurt has transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, according to a parish announcement on social media.

Parish rector Fr. Serhiy Tymoshchuk said the move comes amid the protracted war in Ukraine and a desire to regularize the parish’s canonical status. Citing the 28th canon of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, he stated that Orthodox parishes in Europe fall under Constantinople’s jurisdiction and that the community was received into the Western European Eparchy at its request.

Fr. Tymoshchuk described Germany as the canonical territory of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, multiple Orthodox jurisdictions operate in the country, including the Russian Orthodox Church and other Local Churches such as the Patriarchates of Antioch, Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia. The development reflects ongoing realignments within the Orthodox diaspora in Europe following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Previously, the UOJ reported that a Macedonian parish in Fulda celebrated its first episcopal liturgy. 

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