In view of previous merits: OCU shows “extreme oeconomy” to Filaret
“His Grace" Filaret Denisenko. Photo: dialog.ua
On February 2, 2022, the OCU Synod considered the violation of the “canonical order” by Filaret and his followers, reports the OCU website.
The OCU did not say what kind of claims they had to Filaret but recalled that he had previously been forbidden to “convene and lead meetings to resolve issues of church administration, carry out ordinations, etc.” The Synod of the OCU decided “solely out of respect for the previous merits of His Grace Filaret (Denisenko) and considering his age and state of health” to apply “extreme oeconomy without taking tougher measures of canonical response to the violations committed by him”.
At the same time, the Synod of the OCU decided to punish Filaret's associates in the UOC-KP.
“The former Metropolitan Ioasaf (Shibaev) of Belgorod and Oboyan, the former Bishop of Belgorod-Dnistrovsky Filaret (Panka) and the former Bishop Peter (Moskalev) of Valuysk were summoned to the court of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine or gross violation of the canonical order, participation in illegal meetings and the so-called hierarchal ordinations in Kyiv on charges for which they are subject to defrocking. If absent, they are to be tried in absentia,” the OCU said.
“Ordained” by Filaret since 2019, the “hierarchs” of the UOC-KP in the OCU were called persons who “for robbery assignment of episcopal titles and powers and other actions aimed at provoking divisions in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church”, “are subject to the ecclesiastical court and defrocking.”
Read also
Lavra Reserve closed due to frost “to protect visitors’ health”
The preserve’s administration announced a temporary suspension of visits due to freezing temperatures, citing the protection of both the monuments and visitors’ health.
Armenian authorities impose travel ban on Church leadership
The Armenian Church stated that the authorities' actions, including criminal prosecution and travel ban, are aimed at disrupting the episcopal assembly in February in Austria.
Kyiv Theological Schools to hold annual student conference
A forum dedicated to the legacy of Prince Ostrogski and Metropolitan Raphael Zaborovsky will be held at the Kyiv Theological Academy.
UOC hierarch expresses condolences to families of miners killed in Ternivka
Metropolitan Ireney offered condolences to the victims and relatives of those killed as a result of a drone strike on a miners' bus in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
TRC officers abduct monk of St. Barbara Skete in Stary Korets
In Rivne, the TRC took away a monk of the Rivne Eparchy of the UOC.
UOC responds to transfer of Lower Lavra buildings to OCU
The Church said that Berezhna’s explanations about the “historical logic” of transferring UOC religious buildings to a newly created structure are surprising.