Filaret: OCU violates canons – three ruling bishops per city

The head of the UOC KP Filaret Denisenko. Photo: a screenshot of the “Hromadske” YouTube-channel

The head of the UOC KP Filaret Denisenko is sure that the OCU is violating the canons, as it has two or even three ruling hierarchs in different cities of Ukraine. He said this in an interview with “Hromadske.TV”.

In particular, he said that “according to the canons, in one city there cannot be two or three bishops. But in this church, in the OCU, in one city there are two and in some cities three bishops. In the same church. That is, the order is broken.”

In addition, Filaret Denisenko said that he would not nominate Epiphany for the post of head of the OCU if he immediately refused from the double management of this structure: "If Epiphany said in the presence of the President that the patriarch cannot govern, then I would say that I do not nominate him for the primate, but I will nominate my candidature."
Also, the head of the Kiev Patriarchate commented on the statements of the former UOC KP spokesperson Eustratiy Zoria regarding his illness: “Eustratiy thinks I'm a sick man. Therefore, I do not react to his speeches. I stick to the following rule – listen to your conscience. If conscience shames you – react, and if not – be silent. Eustratiy says that I’m out of my mind, that I am a sick old man ... Let it be on him. I feel good and understand everything.”

He believes that “the people deceived by the Tomos thinks that the Tomos gave what they did not have, but it did not give anything. Moreover, the Kiev Metropolis is made dependent on the Patriarchate of Constantinople.” When asked by a journalist that it might be better to wait, Filaret answered: “Wait. We have also waited for more than 25 years to get what we did not expect.”

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that, in Filaret’s opinion, Epiphany Dumenko sets a bad example to the OCU "hierarchs", and his actions will not lead to the unity of the OCU and Ukrainian Orthodoxy as a whole.

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