Poroshenko’s Party: Filaret was groomed to lead Moscow but he chose Ukraine

Filaret Denysenko. Photo: European Solidarity

The Bukovyna branch of the European Solidarity party has claimed that Filaret Denysenko was groomed by Moscow as a future candidate for Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church but ultimately chose the path of an independent Ukraine. The statement was published on the party’s Facebook page.

According to the authors of the post, Filaret faced a choice between the possibility of leading the Russian Orthodox Church and pursuing “the course of ecclesiastic independence for Ukraine, which meant open confrontation with the Moscow Patriarchate.”

“Filaret chose the second path. He publicly supported the idea of autocephaly for the Ukrainian Church and refused to comply with Moscow’s demands for complete loyalty,” the statement says.

The historical record, however, suggests a different picture. Filaret did not “choose Ukraine” over Moscow. He lost the election for Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and only after that defeat began pursuing the creation of a church structure independent of Moscow.

The party’s authors also omit the fact that prior to his defeat, Denysenko consistently maintained a pro-Moscow position, publicly criticized Ukrainian nationalists, and opposed the autocephalist movement. His turn toward ecclesiastical independence came not as a matter of conviction but after failing to secure victory in the Moscow patriarchal election.

Thus, the publication by Poroshenko’s party in Bukovyna presents the forced move of a defeated candidate as a conscious patriotic choice, distorting the actual sequence of events.

As the UOJ reported, hierarchs of the UOC have recently engaged in an exchange of statements over Filaret’s legacy.

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