UOC responds to Phanar's statements regarding Metropolitan Onuphry’s status

Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich. Photo: Youtube screenshot

On November 5, 2020, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, commented in an interview for “1Kozaktv” on the statements of Patriarch Bartholomew that His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine was stripped of his title after the recognition of the OCU.

According to the priest, Patriarch Bartholomew, in his letter to the editorial board of the "marginal" resource "Tserkvarium", compromises himself, declaring that "Metropolitan Onuphry is no longer the Metropolitan of Kyiv".

“On what ground? Did Metropolitan Onuphry commit any ecclesiastical canonical crime that he lost the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv? Was he tried somehow? No, that was not the case," emphasizes Father Nikolai.

He recalled that “even during the Ecumenical Councils when heretics and schismatics were summoned, they were summoned three times ... They appeared and either repented or not. But they were summoned three times. The same former Metropolitan Filaret, who fell into schism in our country, was also summoned ... And here – a unilateral decision, absolutely non-conciliar, of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who entered the canonical territory of another Church. This is all very weird."

The priest believes that by such actions Patriarch Bartholomew compromises himself. “Why should we care about what the patriarch writes in his diptychs? We are a real Church. It seems that they (Phanariots – Ed.) do not see or do not want to see on the shores of the Bosphorus that the UOC is one of the largest Churches in the world. More than 100 bishops, 12,500 parishes, millions of believers ....”

“It turns out that a “hierarch” of the OCU, who has 20-30 parishes, is a “bishop”, and our bishop, who has 300-400 parishes, is not a bishop?” wonders Father Nikolai.

As reported, Fr Nikolai said that every Local Orthodox Church that takes the path of recognizing the OCU faces internal problems.

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