PATRIARCH FILARET: ALL QUESTIONS RAISED BY METROPOLITAN MAKARY WILL BE RESOLVED AT UNIFICATION COUNCIL
The primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UPTsKP), Filaret, thinks that all disputed question of unification within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church should be resolved openly at a council of bishops.
He said this in an interview with Ukrainian Radio, Ukrainskaia Pravda reports.
"In order to receive a tomos, we must conduct a bishops' council of those hierarchs who have appealed to the ecumenical patriarch for autocephaly. At this council, it is necessary to select a primate for this already unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Patriarch Filaret noted.
Commenting on the words of Metropolitan Makary of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAPTs) about disagreements between the churches regarding a charter and the name of the united local church, he answered: "All these questions that Metropolitan Makary raises—they all will be resolved at the bishops' council. Not before the council, but at the council."
"There also will be a unification there; and a primate will be elected there, and a charter will be adopted there. And all this will proceed openly, with the participation of all bishops—both of the Kiev patriarchate and of the Moscow patriarchate and the Autocephalous Church," Patriarch Filaret emphasized.
He said that 40 bishops are expected from the UPTsKP and 14 bishops from the UAPTs, "and how many from the Moscow patriarchate is not known: whether it will be ten or will be a majority."
The primate Filaret does not think that the council will be delayed, but he was unable to name its date. "I think that the council is being prepared, because a representative of the ecumenical patriarch will be at the council. If this were to depend only on us, on the Ukrainian side, we would be able to say when it will be. But since this depends on the ecumenical patriarch, then we cannot say specifically."
"We hear that it will be in November. There still is no specific date," the UPTsKP patriarch reported.
"We know one thing: the ecumenical patriarch stands firmly for the position of granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian church," he emphasized.
Patriarch Filaret was not able to answer who would be able to put up competition to him, but he would wish himself to head the unified UPTs in order to stand up to the Russian Orthodox Church.
He said that the leader of the church should have theological education, know church canons, have experience in church administration, and also be a metropolitan. Therefore the UPTsKP has expanded the title of Patriarch Filaret to "archbishop and metropolitan of Kiev and all-Rus-Ukraine." (tr. by PDS, posted 25 October 2018)
PATRIARCH FILARET DOES NOT SEE FOR NOW COMPETITORS FOR POST OF HEAD OF NEW UPTs
The primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UPTs) of the Kiev Patriarchate, Patriarch Filaret, is ready to head the Ukrainian Local Orthodox Church, if the unification council entrusts this to him.
The first hierarch spoke about this during a live interview on Ukrainian Radio, Espreso reports.
At the same time, Patriarch Filaret noted that he cannot say who would be able to be his competition in elections for the head of the local church. But he also is not prepared surrender his own ambitions.
"No! But not because I consider myself as such. But because Moscow will do everything in order to destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And therefore for the sake of preserving the UPTs and seeing this to its conclusion, I should work to the end. . . . If the bishops' council trusts me. If it does not trust, then I will remove myself from the position," he said.
The primate of the UPTsKP also explained what criteria should apply in the election of the head of the Ukrainian autocephalous church.
"For now, the ecumenical patriarch wants the Ukrainian church to be headed by an archbishop-metropolitan, not a patriarch. But our church has already made the decision that for external usage, the primate of the UPTs will have an expanded title. That is, there will be both an expanded title and an abbreviated one. The expanded title is archbishop and metropolitan of Kiev and all-Rus-Ukraine. And the short one will be for our internal use—patriarch of Kiev and all-Rus-Ukraine," Patriarch Filaret reported.
We recall that the UPTsKP is hoping to conduct a unification council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the election of a primate of the local autocephalous Orthodox church by the end of the year. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 October 2018)
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