Zoria: Filaret was given medication which dramatically worsened his health

Eustraty Zoria. Photo: Ukrinform

Eustraty Zoria, a “bishop” of the OCU, stated that last fall, “when it was very important to preserve the unity of the Kiev Patriarchate,” Filaret was discovered taking in certain drugs, the use of which had a very negative effect on the “patriarch’s” health. The press secretary of the Kiev “Metropolis” of the OCU spoke about it in an interview with Ukrinform.

According to him, in the period preceding the “Unification Council”, “powerful forces worked to destroy this unity, directing their efforts against Patriarch Filaret as the primate”.

Zoria stressed: it was at this time that Filaret Denisenko’s health deteriorated dramatically. Having taken care of the physical state of the “patriarch”, Zoria discovered the patriarch was taking in a new drug, recommended to Filaret by the doctors.

“Last year, the Patriarch together with Metropolitan Makariy had a moleben service on St. Sophia Square on the Holy Intercession Day. There he pronounced a sermon, there is a video recording, in which the patriarch was feeling well. Literally in less than a couple of weeks, here in Ukrinform, a press conference was held. He had a completely different state. He seemed to have grown ten years older; he hardly spoke, looked bad. As far as I understand, this was due to the recommendation to take certain medications ... The situation was strange because he was recommended to take certain drugs, but he suddenly began to lose his ability to work: worse speaking, worse moving. And all this happened at such a critical moment. We began to look for the cause and arrived at only one conclusion: the effect of a new drug. As soon as he stopped taking it, he recovered within a week,” the hierarch said.

At the same time, Zoria said that he himself had never controlled what preparations Denisenko was taking.

“I have never had anything to do with the treatment side of his life. The patriarch has a niece, who is a doctor by specialty. There are doctors who have accompanied him for many years,” he added.

Earlier, Eustraty Zoria announced that the disease had changed Filaret beyond recognition and made him an ally of Moscow, which is fighting against the Tomos.

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