Filaret: Yurash tells a lie in public

Filaret Denisenko. Photo: League

The statements of Andrei Yurash that the Kiev Patriarchate de jure ceased to exist and any attempts to restore it will lead to the foundation of a completely new religious organization "from scratch" are not true. The “honorary patriarch” Filaret Denisenko announced this on the air of UA: Ukrainian Radio.

Earlier, on the air of this radio station, Andrei Yurash, a director of the Department of the Ministry of Culture for Religious Affairs, said that “anyone can set up whatever religious community, and Patriarch Filaret also has the right to assemble those who recognize a particular position which he articulates.”

Upon that Yurash clarified, “everyone needs to understand that, according to Ukrainian legislation, the former structure of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate ceased to exist on December 15 last year, which is documented, signed, first of all, by the patriarch himself and there is a video to prove it.”

“How can one resort to fraud? Definitely, such a thesis is not true,” the official said and recalled that on January 30, 2019, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine issued a special Decree, whereby the Statute of the UOC KP was annulled and the Statute of the OCU was registered instead of it, “therefore, since January 30 of this year the former Kiev Patriarchate de jure ceased to exist”.

“Thus, if there are any meetings that aim at constituting a religious structure called Kiev Patriarchate, this, in fact, will be the basis to start a new religious organization from scratch, which, if it happens, will be separated from the existing OCU,“ Yurash said.

"It is not true!” Filaret adamantly opposed to the statements voiced. “It is unpleasant to hear the government official tell a lie to the whole of Ukraine. Because the Ministry of Justice currently has the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate registered, with the Statute also registered, the Kiev Patriarchate remaining a legal entity to this day. This is the Ministry of Justice! You just look at the site – and you will see the truth."

Recall, earlier the official of the Ministry of Culture Andrei Yurash said that in the Explanatory Memorandum of the press service of the Kiev Patriarchate dated June 5 of this year, there is “falsehood that casts a shadow on the authority of the last head of the former UOC KP”, since “lying is a sin and lying by those, who are well aware of what a sin is, is manifold more sinful!”

As the UOJ reported, on June 20, 2019, Filaret Denisenko is going to hold the “Local Council” of the UOC KP in Kiev in order to “establish” the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate in the future, which will be independent both from Moscow and Constantinople”. Despite the statements of the leadership of the OCU about possible implications, Filaret sent invitations to the “Council” to the “episcopate” of the OCU. The OCU also called any events, organized by the “liquidated” UOC KP, as illegal and called on patriots not to participate in Filaret-initiated “Council”.

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