OCU: Ordinations of Filaret are void and anti-canonical

Epiphany Dumenko and Filaret Denisenko. A photo: bbc.com

On December 28, 2019, the OCU called on the “Honorary Patriarch” Filaret Denisenko to stop “attempts involving Russian and pro-Russian leaders to destroy the Local Church to the delight of the enemies of Ukraine”, reports the official website of the newly created religious structure.

The appeal says that Filaret Denisenko, despite the attempts of the OCU "to induce him to stop self-isolation and fulfill the conciliar will of the Local Church", "continues to violate the canons and the Statute of the Church".

The OCU reminded that “being actually a retired bishop”, Filaret Denisenko “has no canonical and statutory rights to convene and hold church meetings, to elect and ordain bishops”.

In this regard, the OCU emphasized that "on the basis of Rule 4 of the Second Ecumenical Council ... all acts committed by the Honorable Patriarch Filaret, contrary to the canons and the Statute of the Church, are void."

Therefore, according to the newly created religious structure, "every person declared ‘bishop’ in an illegal way by the Honorary Patriarch Filaret and ‘appointed’, in particular, to the see, where there is already a legal bishop, is not a bishop".

The OCU also called on Filaret Denisenko and his current entourage to “stop, think better, return from the chosen path of lies and deceit to the path of truth, to stop attempts involving Russian and pro-Russian leaders to destroy the Local Church to the delight of the enemies of Ukraine”.

In addition, representatives of the OCU warned "the clergy and laity of complicity in lawless actions, for which responsibility will come before God and the Church".

As reported earlier, three new “bishops” were elected at the "Bishops' Council" of the UOC-KP.

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