FILARET: I HAVE DONE AND WILL DO EVERYTHING SO THAT A UNITED LOCAL UPTs IS APPROVED
By his declaration of 19 November, Patriarch Filaret reacted to a "number of articles whose clear goal is to sow confusion in the Ukrainian church and society and to undermine the process of dialogue between the Ukrainian side and the Constantinople Mother-Church, the ecumenical patriarchate."
The statement of the head of the UPTsKP assured that already for more than 52 years he has firmly and steadfastly borne his ministry in the Kievan see and until now nothing has forced him nor in the future will force him to abandon his ministry to the Ukrainian church.
Patriarch Filaret emphasized that the selection of a primate for the united local Ukrainian Orthodox Church will occur at a council after church unification has been proclaimed and confirmed there.
"Self-nomination as a candidate for the primate position in the church is not permitted by the canons. It was previously reported that the episcopate of the UPTs of the Kiev patriarchate will propose my candidacy for election as primate.
"I thank the episcopate for expressing confidence in me, as I am grateful for the strong support on the part of the plenitude of the Kiev patriarchate and all of society.
"Now I have a settled vision of how I should act in the future and our partners in dialogue, which is continuing, know about it through our personal communication. I assure that within the framework of this dialogue we have adhered to and will adhere to the obligations taken onto myself, just as its other participants have.
"What will be my response to the aforementioned nomination for election, if it is announced officially at the council, I also will state officially to the council after explaining to it my vision and decision, and expecting from it support of my position.
"The basis for the answer will be exclusively an understanding of the welfare of the church and responsibility before the Lord for proper fulfillment of the ministry entrusted to me by him for the Kievan see, which I, by the mercy of God, have borne now for more than 52 years.
"Until now, when it has been necessary for the church, I have been firm and unwavering, not abandoning the primate position, although Moscow demanded this of me, using both coercion and promises. Thus for the sake of the welfare of the church I have made concessions, in particular when as the primate of the UPTs I left that position for the sake of unification in 1992.
"A year ago, the Moscow patriarchate perceived my desire to achieve the recognition of autocephaly of the Ukrainian church and my letter about steps directed to this as an opportunity to destroy and absorb the Kiev patriarchate. I resolutely prevented this and the Muscovite plan fell through.
"In all of these decades neither the threats of the powers that be nor a sea of mud, by which they blackened my name, nor "bans and anathemas"—nothing has forced me to abandon the fulfilling of God's will and ministry to the Ukrainian church. History will confirm my faithfulness to such a path, and I want to assure our episcopate, clergy, and flock that I will not abandon it in the future.
"Therefore even now, having the responsibility as patriarch of Kiev and all-Rus-Ukraine, I have done and will do everything necessary so that the unification process will be successfully concluded and so that a united local Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be confirmed and then recognized by the other local churches," the statement of the primate of the UPTsKP noted. (tr. by PDS, posted 20 November 2018)
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