UGCC calls clerics who get to OCU as schismatics
Heads of the OCU and the UGCC. Photo: pametna.info
Lviv Uniate Metropolitan Igor Voznyak told his subordinates that Ivan Garat, who had moved from the UGCC to the OCU, is a schismatic, and concelebration with him is forbidden.
The transition to the UOC-KP or OCU should be considered a schism (split), the head of the Lviv Uniates emphasized in an official message about the schismatic on the website of the UGCC LA office.
Garat left the UGCC in 2011 and moved to the Kyiv Patriarchate, and then to the OCU.
"According to the legislation of the Catholic Church, such actions are classified as a crime against the faith," said the hierarch of the UGCC. "Whoever in schism avoids subordination to the supreme authority of the Church, unity with the faithful and its subordinates."
In March 2021, Garat was handed a decree that he was banned "from priesthood or performing any other task." The Metropolitan of Lviv of the UGCC forbade his clerics to concelebrate with the schismatic or "perform any other task" together with Garat.
As reported by the UOJ, Uniates and Catholics conducted a funeral service over the body of the "hierarch" of the OCU.
Read also
Terrorist Splinter Group Claims Responsibility for Damascus Bombing
Saraya Ansar al-Sunna (Brigade of Sunni Supporters) says the attack was triggered by a “provocation by the Christians of Damascus.”
EXCLUSIVE: Metropolitan Tychikos to Holy Synod — “I Am the Canonical Metropolitan of Paphos”
UOJ-Greece reports that Metropolitan Tychikos sent a strongly-worded letter to the Cypriot Synod in which he insists on his legitimacy, citing Church canons and an appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
North Texas Parish Advances Toward New Church Building
St. Maximus the Confessor Orthodox Church secures city approval and raises more than $1 million as it seeks to build a new temple to meet growing needs in north-central Texas.
Serbian Hierarchs Commemorate Victims of Ustaša Concentration Camp at Šaran’s Pit
Archbishops Arsenije, Ilarion, and Gerasim lead memorial service at site of mass executions from the Jadovno–Pag concentration camp system in WWII Croatia.
Major Milestones Reached in Pittsburgh Metropolis Center Construction
With dome installed and major infrastructure in place, the project enters the final phase ahead of projected Fall 2025 completion.
Estonia Accuses Orthodox Nuns of Espionage in Rising Religious Tensions
Pühtitsa Convent faces legal and political scrutiny as Estonian officials claim ties to Russian influence, while Orthodox faithful warn of a dangerous precedent for religious freedom