Ex-Met. Alexander: KP and UAOC communities do not automatically go to OCU

Former Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnevoye

Religious communities of the former UOC KP and the UAOC did not automatically transfer to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine but must re-register into a new structure, said the ex-Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnevoye. 

In an interview with the “Priamyi” TV channel, he said that all communities need to hold meetings and re-register: their members should make their own decision on joining the OCU and then ask the “bishop”.

At the same time, the structure of the new Church itself will be the same as that existing under the former schismatic organizations. According to ex-Metropolitan Alexander, 2-3 bishops appeared in some eparchies, and perhaps their titles will change, but it should be decided by the “Holy Synod” of the OCU on a case-by-case basis.

The OCU “hierarch” himself is sure that he has automatically kept all the regalia that he received in the UOC: “I have retained both the title and the position. In the future, when the governing structure of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine itself will be formed, there may be some changes. <...> With the title of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnevoye, I have ministered for many years under the leadership of the late Metropolitan Vladimir and later Metropolitan Onufry in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

It should be noted that in the Orthodox Church, the functions of the vicar bishop (which Alexander Drabinko was in the UOC), unlike the ruling bishop, do not imply any rights to lead eparchies and parishes. However, having transferred to the OCU, the ex-metropolitan launched a vigorous activity on the "blessings" of the UOC communities to go to the OCU. Moreover, he does this far beyond the boundaries of "his" geographical sphere of influence – in Kolomyia, Zaporozhye, Lugansk region and other places.

Sources close to the ex-metropolitan think that such anti-canonical activity is explained by his desire to “acquire parishes” in order to have at least some chances of competing with the “episcopate” of the UOC KP in the distribution of posts.

We recall that not so long ago, Filaret said that the Tomos was given not to "two Moscow bishops without parishes" but to the Kiev Patriarchate.

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