Makariy: I will not liquidate UAOC until Filaret liquidates UOC KP

Makariy Maletich. Photo: Apostrophe

The UAOC has not yet been eliminated in the state register, Makariy Maletich, the “hierarch” of the OCU, said in an interview with the Apostrophe newspaper.

“Some government officials did not tell the truth, publicly stating that the Kiev Patriarchate had been liquidated,” the former head of the UAOC explained. “The fact is that honorary patriarch Filaret provided only copies, but not the original documents, which are necessary for liquidation. When I was asked to submit documents for liquidation, I replied that until I saw the originals from my counterpart, I would not give my own.”

At the same time, he stressed that he firmly believes in the OCU and will continue to “do everything for the unity and development of the Church.”

“It is necessary that the parties fulfill the promise, in particular, that the UOC KP and the UAOC be liquidated together,” Maletich said.

According to him, he foresaw similar difficulties, due to which he refused the order of Yaroslav the Wise, which was offered to him by ex-president Petro Poroshenko.

“I didn’t want to be criticized by journalists together with the Hero of Ukraine (Filaret, who received this title in January 2019 – Ed.) for the arguments in the new Church. If then the current president Poroshenko had asked me for advice, I would have suggested that before conferring the title of Hero of Ukraine to Vladyka Filaret, the latter needed to hand over the original documents to liquidate the UOC KP,” the hierarch concluded.

Recall, on May 14, 2019, “Honorary Patriarch” of the OCU Filaret Denisenko published on the website of the Kiev Patriarchate an official appeal “to the entire Ukrainian Orthodox flock”, in which he once again stressed: the Kiev Patriarchate does not need to be restored because it still exists. To substantiate his words, the “patriarch” reminded that the UOC KP is still registered with the state authorities of Ukraine.

Later, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine confirmed that the decision to terminate the activities of the UOC KP was not filed with the state registration bodies. Consequently, the Kiev Patriarchate continues to exist.

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