Diplomat: Bartholomew called Filaret “excommunicated from the Church”

In the 1990s, Patriarch Bartholomew realized that Filaret Denisenko could not be the head of the Ukrainian Church despite his sympathy for the then metropolitan, because this would be contrary to all canonical norms. Igor Turiansky, the former ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey, spoke about this during the "Moscow Patriarchate in the Russian War against Ukraine" roundtable , which took place on October 31, 2022 in Kyiv at the initiative of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies.

Turiansky said that in October 1993, the diplomatic mission of Ukraine arrived in Istanbul to meet with the head of the Phanar, during which politicians and the patriarch discussed the idea of creating an "independent church."

“The main reflection of Bartholomew then was the fact that it was impossible to rely on Filaret, because he was excommunicated from the Church. This is wrong from a moral, human point of view and impossible according to church canons, which cannot be violated. He said that he loves Filaret, considers him his brother, but he cannot support him,” said Turiansky.

According to the ex-ambassador, Bartholomew called Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan) a person who was capable of creating an independent Church in an independent country.

“The patriarch added, 'Convey these words of mine to Vladimir Sabodan (Met. Onuphry’s predecessor – Ed.)',” recalls the former diplomat.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the OCU considers the consecrations performed by Filaret Denisenko invalid.

Read also