Grandpa Filaret buries the Phanar autocephalous project
The Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople did not make a decision to lift the anathema from the head of the Kyiv schismatics, Mikhail Denisenko (“Filaret”).
The bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Clement of Nizhyn and Priluki, stated this in an interview with the Glavnovosti portal.
“It was surprising for me to hear the interpretation of the decisions that were made by the Synod of Constantinople, and, in particular, the statement that the anathema was lifted from Philaret, since in those documents that at least were published, the word “anathema” is not present anywhere. We were talking about the prohibitions that were placed on Filaret even before the anathema was imposed on him, that is, in 1992,” the archbishop said.
At the same time, he expressed surprise that a number of high-ranking politicians distinguished themselves with “fireworks and congratulations” on the occasion of allegedly receiving a tomos of autocephaly from Constantinople.
“No one granted autocephaly, no one issued any tomos. Despite the statement that this will happen, we have absolutely no confidence that this will happen in the near future. Judging by the decisions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, this church is very actively engaged in the process of creating its structures on the territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” Metropolitan Clement emphasized.
He characterized such actions of Constantinople as “an invasion of canonical territory” that does not belong to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Continuing to evaluate the head of the so-called “Kyiv Patriarchate,” the archbishop noted that the announcement by Constantinople of the lifting of sanctions (disciplinary punishments) against Filaret does not mean a mechanical lifting of these sanctions, but that this will be implemented if Filaret and his church structure enter to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
“These conditions are not new; they were voiced 10 years ago, when Patriarch Bartholomew came to Kyiv, and in previous historical periods. But, as we all know, Filaret’s ambitions are completely different. Yesterday he said that he was, is and remains a patriarch. And if we consider all the decisions that were made, then two patriarchs can hardly fit in one Patriarchate of Constantinople,” said Clement.
He also added that from a church point of view, nothing has changed in Filaret’s status and he continues to remain a citizen of Denisenko.
“This deplorable situation is connected with Philaret’s persistence in remaining in church schism,” the metropolitan concluded.
It is worth noting that the decision of the Synod of Constantinople to lift the anathema from Filaret-Denisenko is not really discussed.
“Accept and consider the appeal petitions of Filaret Denisenko, Makariy Maletich and their followers, who found themselves in schism not for dogmatic reasons, in accordance with the canonical prerogatives of the Patriarch of Constantinople, in order to receive petitions from the hierarchs and other clergy from all Autocephalous Churches. Thus, the aforementioned are canonically restored to their hierarchical or priestly rank, and their followers are restored to communion with the Church,” the Constantinople decision reads.
It must be admitted that the wording looks quite vague and does not give a clear answer to the question of who Constantinople considers the head of the “Kyiv Patriarchate” to be today.
The theologian Andrei Kuraev drew attention to this point in his blog, asking the corresponding question to the representative at the World Council of Churches, Bishop of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Job (Geche).
“Vladika, what is Philaret’s rank now from the Phanar’s point of view? Bishop? Metropolitan? Patriarch? What is the name of his department and does he even have one?” Kuraev asked.
“As far as I know, “former Metropolitan of Kiev,” the Bishop of Constantinople clarified.
The theologian posted a screenshot of this correspondence on Facebook on his blog.
“So yesterday’s statement by Filaret “I was a patriarch, I am and I will be” is just his self-presentation. With this behavior, he already buried the Phanar’s autocephalous project in 2008. Grandpa is still following the same path now,” Kuraev commented on this situation.
He later added that Bishop Job had deleted his comment.
“Oh, my dialogue with Job has already been deleted by him. How identical they are, these eminences...”, summed up the theologian.
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