UOC explains why the head of OCU is not called "Metropolitan"
Head of Phanar and Epiphany Dumenko. Photo: OCU website
Believers do not call the head of the OCU "metropolitan" not because they want to offend him, but because he has no holy dignity. Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, spokesman of the UOC, deputy head of the Department for External Church Relations, said this in Yan Taksiur's program "Right to Faith" on the First Cossack channel.
Answering the relevant question from the presenter, who noted that believers are often accused of not calling Epiphany Dumenko “metropolitan”, ostensibly in order to humiliate and insult the head of the OCU, the priest emphasized that this is “because he does not have any holy dignity, not because they want to offend him somehow."
Father Nikolai recalled that Epiphany was “ordained” by Filaret Denisenko, who was under anathema himself and did not have a canonical ordination. Also, there is a branch from the UAOC in the OCU, which does not have apostolic ordination. “If they receive the canonical ordination, we will gladly call them metropolitans and bishops,” he said.
“This is a question of fidelity to what Jesus Christ said, rather than some intention to offend a person,” the UOC spokesman emphasized.
Earlier, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich commented on the manipulation of the distortion of the name of the UOC in the rhetoric of the OCU and media hostile to the Church.
Read also
"Stigmatization based on faith": DESS reprimands TSN for story about Muslims
DESS criticized TSN because "the investigation in the "1+1" news story immediately took on an accusatory bias, and the accused themselves were not given a voice."
His Beatitude Onuphry: Through fasting, man returns to Paradise
On Forgiveness Sunday, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry reminded the faithful about Adam's fall and urged them to repent before Great Lent.
Archbishop of Greece speaks about his successor and the Church's future
On the occasion of the 18th anniversary of his leadership of the Greek Church, the Primate gave an interview in which he spoke about relations with the state, the situation in Sinai, and the challenges of the modern world.
In Barcelona, Sagrada Familia’s central tower completed after 144 years
In Barcelona, a glass cross was installed on the Sagrada Familia temple, completing the central tower and bringing the building to the height of 172.5 meters.
On Forgiveness Sunday, His Beatitude Onuphry celebrates Liturgy at Lavra
During Cheesefare Week, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry celebrated the Liturgy at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, addressed the flock with a sermon, and offered prayers for peace and the preservation of Ukraine's people.
In Hnidyn, St. Nicholas Church of UOC damaged by shelling
As a result of shelling, the St. Nicholas Church of the UOC in the village of Hnidyn of the Boryspil Eparchy was damaged.