FILARET AND MAKARY DECLINE HEADING NEW CHURCH IN UKRAINE
The primates of the uncanonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UPTsKP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAPTs), Filaret and Makary, declared that they are prepared not to advance their candidacies for the post of head of the united church in Ukraine.
As the Ukrainian publication Vesti reports, with reference to sources, Filaret and Makary sent corresponding letters to Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew.
As noted, Makary in his letter declared that he does not have the necessary authority and capacities in order to head the church.
The publication maintains that Filaret wrote about his readiness to withdraw his candidacy, but he asks that he be given the title "honorary patriarch" of the new church and to delegate for him the post of head of the Holy Synod of the church.
Filaret also asked that Metropolitan Epifany, the patriarchal vicar of the UPTsKP, be selected to be the head of the new church.
At the same time, according to source, the constituent council will be held on 22 November, during which a representative of Constantinople, Archbishop Job, will be selected as head of the new church.
Earlier, the law on transfer of the church of St. Andrew to Constantinople took effect. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 November 2018)
FILARET AND MAKARY DECLINE LEADERSHIP OF UNITED LOCAL CHURCH—NEWS MEDIA
Soiuz Pravoslavnykh Zhurnalistov, 10 November 2018
The heads of the UPTsKP and UAPTs sent letters to Constantinople, acknowledging that they have agreed not to advance their candidacies for the post of leader of the newly created church structure.
At the same time, in exchange for renouncing leadership of the United Local Church, Filaret demands that the title "honorary patriarch" be recognized for him, Vesti reports.
A source in the UAPTs confirmed for Vesti that its head, Makary Maletich, sent a letter to Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew in which he noted that he does not intend to advance his candidacy for the post of primate of the United Local Church.
He said that the head of the UAPTs called attention to the fact that none of the representatives of the episcopate of the UPTsKP and UAPTs has the necessary authority and capacities in order to aspire to election as the head of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Therefore the head of the UAPTs asked Patriarch Bartholomew to designate as the only candidate for the post of head of the new church a representative from among the bishops of the Constantinople patriarchate.
The publication's source said: the UAPTs knows that Filaret also sent a letter to the Phanar in which he noted that he was prepared to forego his candidacy for the post of head of the new church. However instead, considering his service to the Ukrainian nation, he asked that the unification council recognize for him the title of "honorary patriarch" of this structure, assuring to him the post of head of the Holy Synod of the new church and also to choose as head of this church the "patriarchal vicar" of the UPTsKP, "Metropolitan" Epifany.
"This is a creature of Filaret, his protégé and disciple. In the event of his election, Filaret will maintain his influence, repeating the situation of the early 1990s when Vladimir Romaniuk was in the chief post of patriarch of the secessionist UPTsKP, but actually Filaret administered the church," explains religious studies scholar Aleksei Smirnov.
Filaret also insists that the text of the final document of the unification council reflect "his important personal role in the process of the creation in Ukraine of an autocephalous church," Vesti's source in the UAPTs explained. Thus, in his opinion, Filaret pursues two goals. First, to consolidate "forever" his status as the chief moral authority in Ukrainian church circles. Second, to virtually defeat the Phanar by establishing de facto his personal control over all important administrative structures of the new association.
It is reported that in their letters, the leaders of the UPTsKP and UAPTs designated their status for Constantinople in the following way: Makary Maletich called himself "former metropolitan," and Filaret signed as an "archbishop."
Political analyst Elena Diachenko commented on these reports thus: "For me Filaret's letter is a surprise. In church circles, rumors circulated that he was not prepared in any circumstances to bow his head not to be the first. Just a couple of weeks ago, speaking of the results of the decision of the Synod of Constantinople, Filaret said that the unification council and tomos are possible only with the participation of the three churches, and from his words it followed that this would never happen." In Diachenko's opinion, there are covert signs of pressure on Filaret (as well as on Makary) and apparently sufficiently weighty arguments were found for both leaders.
As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reports, UAPTs leader Makary Maletich previously declared that he will not advance his candidacy for the post of head of the United Local Church.
In his turn, the chancellor of the UPTs, Metropolitan of Borispol and Brovary Antony said that there exists a letter from the Phanar, sent to the UPTsKP and UAPTs, according to which neither Filaret nor Makary may participate in the elections. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 November 2018)
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