“We are not going to take part,” Clement said when asked whether the UOC would take part in the Unification Council.
The non-canonical church earlier called on the churches in Ukraine to begin preparations for a unifying council, which is to decide on church unity and select the head of a united local church.
READ MORE: Russian Orthodox Church Forced to End Eucharistic Ties With Constantinople
The Constantinople Patriarchate also decided to lift the anathema of two leaders of schismatic churches in Ukraine and return the metropolia under Constantinople's jurisdiction, canceling its 1686 decision.
In response, the Russian Orthodox Church said that the Constantinople Patriarchate’s move was "deeply anticanonical" and "catastrophic" and announced it forced to end eucharistic ties between the churches.