Metropolitan Hilarion: Awarding new titles to Filaret is farce

Head of the ROC DECR, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk

Awarding new titles to Filaret Denisenko is a farce, according to Metropolitan Hilarion of the DECR of the Russian Orthodox Church. The hierarch reported this in a comment to the Romfea agency.

“Filaret remains a schismatic to us,” noted Metropolitan Hilarion. “This entire farce with the bestowal of titles only once again demonstrates that the decision of 1997 to excommunicate him from the Church, recognized by all the Local Churches, without exception, including the Patriarchate of Constantinople, was right. Filaret can take as many titles as he pleases, but the essence does not change: he has never ever been a patriarch. Therefore, he is neither Holy nor Beatitude.”

According to Metropolitan Hilarion, Filaret's new titles discredit Patriarch Bartholomew even more than Filaret himself.

“The fact that Filaret, encouraged by the support of Constantinople, is appropriating new titles to himself is not as surprising as the support itself. Did advisors to Patriarch Bartholomew, who recommended him to defend such an odious figure, give a proper thought to that? Didn't they thereby set their leader up?” asks the ROC hierarch.

As the UOJ reported, on 20 October 2018, at the “holy synod” of the UOC KP, a full and abbreviated title form was awarded to the “head” of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate. The full official title was defined as "His Holiness and His Beatitude (name), Archbishop and Metropolitan of Kiev – Mother of the Rus Cities and of Galicia, Patriarch of All Rus-Ukraine, Holy Archimandrite of the Holy Assumption Kiev-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavras."

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