Over 500 parishes join Orthodox Church of Ukraine - Epiphanius

Over 500 parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate have joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine over more than half a year since its creation, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius has said.

"Now we see that the process has slowed a bit, but it is still ongoing. Several parishes are already legalizing their status in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, but I believe that the electoral epic will gradually be over in the future, people will calm down and will continue to make decisions collectively, at meetings, by the majority of votes, on joining our recognized Orthodox Church of Ukraine," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted Metropolitan Epiphanius as saying at a briefing in Kyiv on July 28.

He expressed confidence that the dynamics of transitions to the newly created church would resume later.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate stated that it included 12,092 parishes in 2018.

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