Filaret invites OCU “episcopate” to the UOC-KP “Council”

Head of the UOC KP Filaret Denisenko. Photo: Crime.net

"Patriarch of Kiev and All Rus-Ukraine" Filaret, despite statements by the leadership of the OCU about possible implications, sent an invitation to the "episcopate" of the OCU to the "local council of the UOC KP" to be held on June 20. It is reported by Strana.ua.

The outlet also published a copy of the invitation sent out by Filaret sent to the "hierarchs" of the OCU:

“I invite you to take part in the Local Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, which will be held at St. Vladimir Patriarchal Cathedral of Kiev city on June 20, 2019, at 11 am.”

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that, according to Filaret, “the Ukrainian people need an independent church”. That is why the head of the UOC KP convenes the “Local Council”: “in order to establish the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate in the future, which will be independent both from Moscow and Constantinople”.

In turn, the OCU declares that “the UOC KP as a separate religious association ceased its activities by uniting and acceding to the established one Local Orthodox Church of Ukraine”; consequently, “holding any events on behalf of the UOC KP, in particular under the names of its statutory bodies (the Holy Synod, the Bishops' Council and the Local Council) are illegal.”

According to the authors of the Statement, Filaret has no right to convene either the “Local Council” of the UOC KP or any other and therefore, “any arbitrary and non-statutory meetings of an unspecified group of unauthorized persons, assigning this assembly the name of the “Council” means church division and separation of the organizers and participants of such meetings from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine with all canonical and legal implications.”

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