Synod of UOC bans Alexander Drabinko and Simeon Shostatsky from priesthood

Synod of the UOC held on December 17

On December 17, 2018, the Synod of the UOC decided to ban Alexander Drabinko and Simeon Shostatsky from priesthood, says the official statement of the Holy Synod of the UOC, published by the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

Among the Synod’s resolutions today was the decision to dismiss from their eparchies and defrock the two metropolitans who had gone schismatic from the canonical Church to join the new nationalist church created by Constantinople on Saturday.

“The Synod dismissed Metropolitan Simeon of Vinnitsa and Bar and the bishop of the Kiev Metropolis Metropolitan Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnevoye from their eparchies and forbade them from serving,” the decision reads.

The UOC then asked "the loyal children" of the UOC to pray "for those hierarchs, who have gone schismatic, so that God give them wisdom and strength to return into the fold of the canonical Church," Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary said.

According to the final Synod documents published on the UOC website, Archimandrite Dionisy (Pilipchuk) was chosen as the new bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, while Met. Simeon’s has been replaced by the vicar of the Kiev Metropolis His Grace Bishop Varsonofy (Stoliar) of Borodianka.

As reported earlier, “Metropolitan” Simeon Shostatsky and “Metropolitan” Alexander Drabinko attended the “Unification Council”. On December 16, during the sermon after the Sunday Liturgy at the Cathedral of Vinnitsa, "Metropolitan" Simeon said that His Beatitude Onufry is no longer the Metropolitan of Kiev and is now in the status of a schismatic.

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