Bishop Isaiah of Šumperk, Vicar of Olomouc and Brno Eparchy, from the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia celebrated the Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kiyv.
According to a press release from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the auxiliary bishop from the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the Ukrainian primate at the Archangel Michael Cathedral on the Forefeast of the Synaxis of Archangel Michael and Other Bodiless Powers, which is celebrated on November 21 on the Old Calendar. According to the same press release, Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and Bishop Isaiah of Šumperk will concelebrate the Divine Liturgy tomorrow.
The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia is the youngest of the Orthodox Churches, with the exception of Ukraine, and became autocephalous in 1998. The Czech Orthodox Church is the only church that has not yet made its position clear on the issue of Ukrainian recognition. However, the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia has so far followed the Patriarchate of Moscow on a number of issues. For this reason, the presence of Bishop Isaiah of Šumperk in Kyiv raises questions on whether Prague intends to change course.
