Greek mass media: Filaret’s rhetoric in relation to Phanar is insulting

Head of the UOC KP Filaret

Manners of communication and methods of influence of Filaret in relation to Constantinople are offensive. It was written on December 14 by Andreas Ludaros, editor-in-chief of the Greek ecclesiastical edition Orhodoxia.info close to Phanar.

According to him, Filaret rotates in his own microcosmos, as if nothing exists outside of Ukraine.

“Two days before the election of the first primate of the Autocephalous Church in Ukraine, Filaret serves the liturgy according to the patriarchal rite,” writes Ludaros. “No country in the world recognizes him as a patriarch. He doesn't care. He convenes a bishop's council for decision-making. The council, which does not exist, because there is no such church as the "Kiev Patriarchate". But he doesn't care either.”

The editor of the Greek outlet notes that when Filaret was unable to impose the format of an “open vote” on Phanar, he convened the “bishop’s council” of the UOC KP and said that they should all support the “Metropolitan” Epiphaniy.

“What should be the rules that allow retaining the free will of voters? Filaret views them as Soviet, not Orthodox ones. We elect the head of the Church, not the secretary general of the party. The time when the Politbureau appointed patriarchs is long gone. And Filaret should have been the first to realize it,” the journalist stresses.

Ludaros notes that Filaret, who professes freedom from the “evil” Russian influence, is not a liberal at all.

“I am increasingly convinced that Filaret’s manners of interaction and his methods of influence in relation to the Ecumenical Patriarch and the historical principles of the Orthodox Church are simply offensive,” the editor-in-chief of Orhodoxia.info concluded.

As reported by the media, on December 13, the “Bishops' Council” of the UOC KP took place, at which about 30 out of the approximately 40 present “bishops” supported the candidacy of “metropolitan” Epiphaniy Dumenko for the position of head of the new church structure established in Ukraine. On December 10, 2018, “patriarch” Filaret openly declared his disagreement with Constantinople regarding the “unification council” procedure.

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