On 1 October 2025, a joint conference of German Evangelical Academies was held. In total, the association includes 16 academies across the country, whose main goal is to involve active members of Evangelical churches in social processes in the country. This is not the first time that the organisers have invited Sergii Bortnyk to shed light on the situation in Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
This time, three perspectives were presented in the panel dedicated directly to religious topics: German Lutheran, Polish Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox. Sergii Bortnyk’s report was entitled “Faith in One Church, Collaborators, and the Concept of a Just Peace”.
In his speech, the representative of Ukraine drew attention to the deepening of the partnership concept of state-confessional relations in Ukraine, from which, however, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is excluded. He also emphasised the “existential” perception of the confrontation between the state and the UOC – on the one hand, it is a threat to the very existence of Ukrainian statehood, and on the other hand, it is the UOC’s exclusivist approach to the boundaries of the Church and the possibility of eternal salvation. Sergii Bortnyk also shared his thoughts on the place of the concept of “just peace” in the Church’s proclamation.
The text of Sergii Bortnyk’s report is available on the link –
