Zoria: Filaret’s actions can be explained with age-related changes

Filaret Denisenko. Photo: UOC KP press centre

Filaret believes he is saving the unity and identity of the Ukrainian Church, but his vision is too far from reality. Eustraty Zoria, a “hierarch” of the OCU, said about this in an interview with Channel 5, commenting the convocation of the “Local Council” of the UOC KP, which “patriarch” Filaret Denisenko plans to hold on June 20, 2019.

Zoria stressed that the UOC KP as a religious association ceased its activities "according to the decision of the valid Local Council of the UOC of the Kiev Patriarchate on December 15, 2018", and "there are documents, there are videotapes and numerous witnesses that the decision was made open with the consent of everyone only with one vote against".

“According to this resolution, the statutory bodies cease to operate and the statute of the UOC KP is terminated,” he continued. “According to even the statute of the Kiev Patriarchate, if you read it, it indicates that the Local Council, the Bishops' Council is convened by the Patriarch together with the Holy Synod. There is no Holy Synod of the Kiev Patriarchate to date. All members of the KP Holy Synod in its composition as of December 15, with the exception of Patriarch Filaret and the Belgorod Metropolitan in Russia, in no way support such a development of events. Therefore, the meeting about which we hear from the Honorary Patriarch under the name of the Local Council is, in fact, the meeting of unknown persons who are being invited to something that can be called anything but certainly not the Local Council of the Kiev Patriarchate.”

The “hierarch” of the OCU believes that through certain people, Filaret is inculcated “thoughts” that play into the hands of Moscow: “They began to act from inside and, knowing the patriarch’s weaknesses, are imposing a certain way of thinking on him through particular people; because I am absolutely convinced and one should clearly understand: the patriarch does not work in the interests of Moscow and what he does, in his opinion, is that he saves the unity and identity of the Ukrainian Church, but unfortunately, the vision voiced by him is very far from reality.”

"It is very disappointing to talk about it and it’s not my personal impression, but a lot of specialists who have reflected on what is happening said that it is largely related to age-specific changes typical of elderly people," concluded Zoria.

He also announced the "Holy Synod" of the OCU, scheduled for the end of June, by the time of which all parishes will have been re-registered. Currently, according to the “hierarch”, only Filaret-led “eparchy” absconds from re-registration.

As the UOJ reported, on June 20, 2019, Filaret Denisenko is going to hold the “Local Council” of the UOC KP in Kiev in order to “establish” the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate in the future, which will be independent both from Moscow and Constantinople”. Despite the statements of the leadership of the OCU about possible implications, Filaret sent invitations to the “Council” to the “episcopate” of the OCU. The OCU also called any events, organized by the “liquidated” UOC KP, as illegal and called on patriots not to participate in Filaret-initiated “Council”.

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