Filaret: Dependency on Phanar is spelled out in the Tomos of OCU

“Honorary Patriarch” of the new religious organization Filaret Denisenko. Photo: Unian

The Tomos of autocephaly caused disunity in the OCU as dependence on the Patriarchate of Constantinople is spelled out in it, said “Honorary Patriarch” of the new religious organization Filaret Denisenko on “Channel 5”.

“Instead of uniting Ukrainian Orthodoxy, we got the disunity of what was one. What is the basis for this disunity? On the basis that, having received the Tomos of autocephaly, it is written in this Tomos that we are subordinate to the Constantinople Patriarchate. Do we need such autocephaly?” Filaret said.

He stressed that the dependency of this church structure is spelled out in the Statute of the OCU.

“In the Statute – the same dependence that was presented in a different form. For example, we cannot cook myrrh. We are dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople. If he gives myrrh, we can perform the Sacraments; if he doesn’t give myrrh, we as the Church cannot perform the Sacraments,” noted the “Honorary Patriarch” Filaret.

According to him, the Tomos prohibits the OCU to have a diaspora, and the diaspora is outraged – they do not want to obey the Phanar.

Now the struggle is for Ukraine to have its own Patriarchate, but Epiphany Dumenko, the “primate” of the new religious organization, does not want this, Filaret stressed.

“Both Metropolitan Epiphany and the Patriarch of Constantinople do not want the Patriarchate in Ukraine,” he concluded.

Earlier, the “honorary patriarch” of the OCU accused Epiphany of doing everything possible to have Tomos taken away from the new church structure. “In words to the clergy and to journalists, he speaks of unity and cooperation but does the opposite. Frightens with the revocation of the Tomos, but in fact, he is doing everything to make this happen,” Filaret said.

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