09.02.2009, [17:21] // UOC-MP //RISU.ORG.UA
KYIV—During a press-conference in Kyiv, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), gave the following answer to a question about the possible renewal of the patriarchal see in Kyiv: “In principle, why not, if the right time comes?” At the same time, he noted that “this [autocephaly] is received by common believers not very actively and not quite positively.” RISU’s Ukrainian site posted this story on 5 February 2009.
People fear that some changes in the church’s structure can harm them. People have painful associations with the very word ‘autocephaly.’ They do not understand this notion, and, even more so, they are afraid of the situation behind the notion. Therefore, there will be no autocephaly at this time. And when its time will come, I also cannot tell. The Lord knows,” stressed Metropolitan Volodymyr.