OCU threatens Filaret with dismissal

Anthony Makhota. Photo: Bukovina online

The “hierarch” of the OCU, Anthony Makhota, commenting on the conflict around banning of Alexander Trofimliuk’s “from prieshood”, reminded Filaret that he could lose his position because of his non-canonical actions. About this Makhota wrote on his page on Facebook.

“The statute of our Church defines not only the rights, but also the responsibilities of diocesan bishops. The diocesan bishop, canonically elected and ordained, remains as a chancellor in his diocese for life unless he:

– resigns and the Holy Bishops' Council approves his resignation;

– his see is declared widowed;

– by a qualified majority of three-quarters of all members of the Holy Bishops' Council due to the competently confirmed impossibility of the bishop to perform his duties as a result of a physical or mental illness or old age.”

Makhota believes that the conflict that broke out between Filaret and Epiphany was triggered by the fact that "an old management system and new or long-forgotten conciliar traditions clashed like two magnetic poles".

“’Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved’ (Matt. 9, 17). Therefore, one is witnessing now the ‘burst of old wineskins’,” the “hierarch” of the OCU wrote, calling Filaret's decree on banning A. Trofimliuk from “priesthood” dubious, canonically illiterate, issued on the letterhead of the non-existent organization in terms of church canons”.

Recall, on May 29, Filaret and Epiphany published two Decrees whereby they accused each other of not observing church canons, after which the “honorary patriarch” declared that the “primate” set a bad example to the “hierarchs” of the OCU.

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