Archbishop Ihor Isichenko, who was serving as archbishop of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church in the Kharkiv-Poltav diocese, has joined to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in communion with Rome.
Newsroom (17/09/2022 4:10 PM, Gaudium Press) Catholic news website ‘The Pillar’ reports that Ihor Isichenko, who was serving as archbishop of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church in the diocese of Kharkiv-Poltava, has joined the Greek-Catholic Church in that country, in communion with Rome.
This union became fully effective at the beginning of this year, and then came many of his parishes, which are now part of the Ukrainian Catholic Exarchate of Kharkib and the Archieparchy of Kiev.
Isichenko’s path to the Catholic Church – of more than seven years – began after he found that the internal divisions among the Orthodox were too deep and their unity unlikely. It was then that he decided to join the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
The path was not easy, for not only was this archbishop Orthodox, but his entire diocese. Most of his parishes followed the path of their archbishop, and today are Catholic, however, some preferred to join other Orthodox communions.
Isichenko is a prestigious scholar in his homeland and has always been one of the country’s most prominent Christian leaders. Isichenko now has the status of Archbishop Emeritus and heads a branch of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
With information from The Pillar
