Expert: UOC is far more independent of ROC than autocephalous OCU of Phanar

Vasily Anisimov. Photo: portal-kultura.ru

On December 27, 2019, honored journalist of Ukraine Vasily Anisimov said in an interview with Radio Radonezh that the UOC enjoys many more freedoms than the OCU, which received "autocephaly" from Constantinople, Interfax reports.

“The Tomos and the statute of the OCU, according to Filaret’s belated insight, turned out to be ‘Istanbul-imposed bondage and captivity’ leaving no trace of the former schismatic independence and liberties. The UOC, which has the status of autonomy within the Russian Orthodox Church, turns out to be a hundredfold freer and more independent than the autocephalous OCU of Istanbul,” Anisimov said.

In his opinion, the statute of the OCU "was cloned, presumably, from the Greek Church or even some Cretan autonomous Church."

“In Greece, eight million Greeks maintain not only their own Greek Church (which is state-owned) but also the Patriarch of Constantinople, who has stauropegia in Greece (e.g. Athos), dioceses under his direct or joint with Athens jurisdiction. This is one nation, they have one patriarch – Bartholomew. So they established the same model in Ukraine, where the split structure should maintain the vassal OCU and Bartholomew who is going to feed on it,” explained Vasily Anisimov.

In addition, the journalist noted that "Istanbul chopped off the entire Ukrainian Diaspora, having reduced the activities of the OCU to the geographical borders of Ukraine, while the Ukrainian communities outside the country should be subordinate to Phanar and maintain Bartholomew directly."

He added that there are 65 million Ukrainians in the world, and the Diaspora hypothetically is half the Ukrainians in the world, there are large dioceses in Canada and the USA, although they are English-speaking.

“It is clear that if the breakaway groups had been aware of this statute ahead of time, no one would have come to the “Unification Council”. Therefore, the government, in collusion with Istanbul, conducted a special operation so that the schismatics would vote, sign and create something not knowing what. This is a standard fraudulent raiding. Filaret, like a blind-eyed old woman who now lives at the entrance door, was seized his apartment and new Istanbul owners were let in instead. A kind of 'it was yours, now it is ours'. A common plot,” concluded the journalist.

We will remind, earlier Vasily Anisimov declared that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople wants to position a “tomos scam” as “a collective crime of all Greeks”.

Read also

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens hospitalized

During the liturgy, the Archbishop of Greece felt unwell; after receiving medical assistance, his condition stabilized.