UOC-KP has Become a Victim of its Own Aggression

On September 29, the official website of the UOC-KP issued an extraordinary statement made on behalf of the Khmelnitsk Diocese of the Kiev Patriarchate.

The statement against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church sounds peculiarly strong, which the Kyiv Patriarchate hasn’t allowed itself at the official level so far. The UOC was named a religious organization "the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine." Exactly this way, in inverted commas. The UOC believers were called "bandits", "cheated, brain-washed elderly women", "mercenaries of Putin", "special agents in cassocks", "the fifth column" that "obeys orders of the FSB," etc. And all this was published on the official website of the UOC-KP, but not on a forum or in the comments on Facebook!

At the bottom of the statement there is a reference to the source – the Khmelnitsk diocese of the UOC-KP. Let’s go to the link, and ... oh, miracle! Instead of the original statement hangs another declaration entitled, quoting the original language and spelling: "On the subject of the latest appeal released by the press-service in regard to the discrimination of UOC-KP." It is signed by Metropolitan Anthony, the governing bishop of the Khmelnitsk diocese of the UOC-KP. 

Reading this statement makes you feel bewildered. Comparing the styles of the two statements, one comes to the conclusion that they were written by different people! The first statement, despite the hard words, is made grammatically correct, with the right sentence structures and no mistakes. The latter is full of numerous errors and is written in a completely different style. The second thing you notice is the content of the statement of Metropolitan Anthony. It is, in fact, denies the content of the statement issued on the site of the UOC-KP.

The essence of this statement is as follows: Metropolitan Anthony admits that he "blessed the press-service for this (on the UOC-KP site - auth.) statement," but after that the Khmelnitsk diocese of the KP ran into trouble because they had been misinterpreted and decided that religious conflicts are taking place in Khmelnitsk region itself.

However, Anthony comments, "all confessions in Khmelnitsk in their prayer for the city and Ukraine have come to mutual understanding which was broadly commented and proved by photos showing a true brethren spirit of Podolie citizens.”

Punctuation marks are simply missing. But this is not important. In fact, Metropolitan Anthony says that in Khmelnitsk region all denominations, including the UOC, co-exist peacefully with each other. Between the lines we may read remorse for the strong and unfair statement against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and a hint at the fact that he (Anthony) was simply set up.

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The following passage is clearly addressed to someone who understands what it is at all about, someone from Filaret’s surroundings: "We have to remember that we are fully responsible for the actions of our brethren in other regions of Ukraine. And if they do wrong, we have to admit it in our STATEMENTS and will never give others cause for such statements, saying afterwards that everything is ok with us." In other words Antony says that if the Kiev Patriarchate makes mistakes, they should admit them but not tell a lie.

And now, let's think. The statement, which appeared on the official website of the KP, was clearly a reaction to the events in Katerinovka. Mass beating of the UOC believers received such a powerful resonance in the media, including foreign ones, that the Kyiv Patriarchate needed badly to find some corresponding information response. Apparently, after the text of the statement had been made, Anthony Makhota, the bishop of the Khmelnitsk diocese was asked to sign it, which he actually did in his innocence and unawareness.

When he realized what he had done, and how he had let down the religious world in his diocese, he backed down and removed the original statement from the website of the Khmelnitsk diocese, placing instead a murky and incomprehensible for ordinary people text. However, the one whom it is addressed will understand.

Who made Anthony sign a clearly provocative text? Who is this man, as the saying goes, with the "brazen red ..."? I think he figured it out and removed the text, inciting inter-confessional strife, from the official site of the Kiev Patriarchate.

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