Kiev, September 19, 2019
Photo: spzh.news
Since starting a schism within the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU), “Honorary Patriarch” Philaret has often been his own worst enemy, as he accidentally tells the truth about the canonical status of the OCU, and laments that he helped Epiphany, the primate of the OCU, take power, whom he now regards as a traitor.
In a new statement published on the official site of the “Kiev Patriarchate,” Philaret’s recently-revived jurisdiction, Philaret remarkably admits to both influencing and pushing his bishops to vote for Epiphany, as well as his own terrible judgement.
“I never thought he could be a traitor,” said Philaret. “I also trusted President Petro Poroshenko, because he’s the President. How can you not trust the President? You have to trust the President! But he secretly signed agreements with the Ecumenical Patriarch that we did not know about. And Metropolitan Epiphany too… I trusted him,” Philaret sadly remarks.
“Take this into account. At the Council, 28 Bishops had voted for Metropolitan Simeon of Vinnitsa, and 36 for Epiphany. Epiphany succeeded by 8 votes. So why did Metropolitan Simeon get 28 votes; who voted for him? Two bishops had come from the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) and Metropolitan Simeon himself. And the remaining 26–who are they? These are the bishops of the UAOC, and 13 from the Kiev Patriarchate! That is to say, 13 bishops of the Kiev Patriarchate voted against Metropolitan Epiphany. See, Epiphany had no chance of becoming the primate if I had not supported him with such force. And now he wants to destroy me completely. Even evicted from the premises of the Kiev Patriarchate, thrown into the street, I wrote a letter to him: ‘Fear God! If you don’t believe in him, then at least have an ordinary human conscience,’” Philaret said.
Thus, Philaret is openly admitting to pressuring his “bishops” to vote for Epiphany when of course, the vote is supposed to be without political interference, with each hierarch voting by his conscience.
In a time when he has nothing to lose or to gain, Philaret also revealed both his gullibility in trusting Poroshenko, as well as the influence the President had in the matter, and his political dealings with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Earlier, Philaret began speaking some truth after his fall from power, claiming that the OCU is non-canonical. He also quite importantly noted that if he was under anathema, then Epiphany is not even a priest, as Philaret ordained him both to the “priesthood” and the “episcopate” at a time when his anathema was even recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, meaning, unlike Philaret, Epiphany was never a canonical hierarch.
Matfey Shaheen
