Piraeus Metropolitan: The reinstatement of Filaret and Maletich is invalid

Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus. Photo: UOJ

During a theological conference held by the Metropolis of Piraeus, Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus delivered a detailed report on the canonical violations involved in the reinstatement of the leaders of Ukrainian schismatic groups. The hierarch declared the decisions to rehabilitate Filaret Denysenko and Makariy Maletich, along with their clergy, to be invalid. This was reported by a UOJ correspondent. The conference was broadcast on the Greek UOJ YouTube channel.

"The Ecumenical Patriarchate reinstated all these schismatic church groups along with their leaders into canonical order, and the Church of Greece recognized their canonical status without even a vote on the matter," noted Metropolitan Seraphim, criticizing the decision-making procedure.

The hierarch provided a detailed account of the canonical history of the key figures in the Ukrainian schism. Filaret Denysenko was defrocked in 1992 for disobedience and later anathematized for causing schism and other anti-canonical actions. The metropolitan read letters from the Ecumenical Patriarch to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992 and 1997 confirming agreement with Filaret’s defrocking and anathematization. Regarding Makariy Maletich, Metropolitan Seraphim pointed out that he had headed a self-proclaimed structure of dubious origin.

The hierarch paid particular attention to the absence of repentance among those reinstated. He stressed that according to the patristic tradition, repentance is a necessary precondition for returning to Church communion. "Inclusion in the unity and communion of the Church necessarily presupposes a deep personal awareness and sincere expression of repentance by the party or community seeking restoration," he stated.

The Metropolitan emphasized that "the requirement of repentance cannot be bypassed or annulled by any institutional person or ecclesiastical body. There is no form of 'economia' that can override or eliminate repentance."

He also mentioned questionable individuals in the ranks of the Ukrainian schismatics, including “Orthodox bishop Vikentiy Chekalin, convicted of pedophilia and imprisoned in Australia.”

Metropolitan Seraphim reminded the audience that the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew himself, in a 1992 letter, recognized the legitimacy of Filaret’s defrocking by the Moscow Patriarchate and called for a cessation of ecclesiastical communion with him. In the 1997 letter concerning Filaret's anathematization, the Patriarch wrote: “Having received notification of the anathema, we inform the hierarchy of the throne and urge them to have no ecclesiastical communion with him.”

The hierarch highlighted the canonical irregularities of the very procedure of restoration. According to him, under church law, decisions of patriarchal synods can only be reviewed by an Ecumenical Council, not by another patriarchal synod. “Only an Ecumenical Council has the canonical right to examine the case of monk Filaret Denysenko and others after the decisions of the Moscow Patriarchate,” concluded the Metropolitan.

As a result, in the opinion of the Metropolitan of Piraeus, “the decisions to reinstate defrocked, anathematized, and unordained leaders of the two Ukrainian schismatic groups are entirely invalid.” Consequently, the very granting of autocephaly to the OCU is also invalid, since it was given to a “non-existent canonical Church.”

Metropolitan Seraphim called for a review of the Ukrainian issue at a pan-Orthodox level, emphasizing the need to observe canonical norms and patristic tradition in resolving such grave ecclesiastical matters.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a conference on the issue of the OCU was taking place in Greece.

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