“Hierarch” of OCU: I was in gracious schism, then repented before Phanar

The "hierarch" of the OCU Gabriel (Kryzyna) (right). Photo: Krizina's Facebook Page

The Rivne-Volyn “bishop” of the OCU Gabriel (Kryzyna) said on his Facebook page that he had been in a “gracious schism with apostolic succession” for about three months but later repented to Patriarch Bartholomew and now considers himself a canonical bishop.

Debating in comments with Kryzyna, one of the laity, Andrei Semenchuk, asked the “hierarch” why he did not repent of the schism knowing how his mother was suffering because of this: “How is it, father Gabriel? What do we learn from you? Do you know that through your schismatic actions your mother does not want to live, poor thing? She is constantly crying that her son betrayed Christ. She lives in a convent in the Carpathian region and feels inconsolable. Father, why did you do that?”

In response, Kryzyna said that in 2018, through repenting, he was accepted into the Patriarchate of Constantinople: “On October 14, 2018, by the decision of the Synod of the Mother Church of Constantinople, I was reinstated and accepted (through repentance) into the Mother Church.”

The “hierarch” also specified that before being admitted to the Church of Constantinople, he really had been in a schism for some time (obviously, he means being a member of the UAOC – Ed.), but considers this schism to be gracious: “There was a certain period (more than 3 months) in the schism of the Mother Church – the Ecumenical Patriarchate (in the gracious schism – with apostolic succession).

In another correspondence, Kryzyna confirmed that he considers himself a canonical bishop, since the repentance for the schism was personally accepted by Patriarch Bartholomew: “The Ecumenical Patriarch accepted my repentance (I am the canonical bishop).”

Recall that earlier Gabriel (Kryzyna) was an archimandrite of the UOC. For backsliding into schism, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of September 25, 2018, he was banned from ministry. He was admitted to the UAOC and “consecrated” as the Rivne-Volyn “bishop”. After the creation of the OCU on December 15, 2018, he joined the new structure in the same status.

On October 11, 2018, the Synaxis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople made a decision, the third paragraph of which was as follows: “To accept and review the petitions of appeal of Filaret Denisenko, Makariy Maletych and their followers, who found themselves in schism not for dogmatic reasons, in accordance with the canonical prerogatives of the Patriarch of Constantinople to receive such petitions by hierarchs and other clergy from all of the Autocephalous Churches. Thus, the abovementioned have been canonically reinstated to their hierarchical or priestly rank, and their faithful have been restored to communion with the Church.”

No separate information on repentance to Patriarch Bartholomew was made public by members of the UOC-KP or UAOC.

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