Kiev, October 19, 2023
Fr. Gabriel of the UOC communes at the hands of the Constantinople bishop in Kiev. Photo: spzh.news
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine issued a decree yesterday suspending an archimandrite who twice in recent months served with the Constantinople exarch bishop in Kiev and schismatics of the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”
The decree, from His Beatitude, published by the Union of Orthodox Journalists, reads:
TO ARCHIMANDRITE GABRIEL (ANISMOV SERGEI ANATOLIEVICH)
By our decree of October 18, 2023, for violating the resolution of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of November 13, 2018 and the oath of a clergyman, you are removed from the post of abbot of the stavropegial Monastery of St. Paisius Velichkovsky (Sevastopol) and suspended from the priesthood.
The Union of Orthodox Journalists notes that Fr. Gabriel served at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Kiev with the Constantinople bishop and schismatics on September 24 and October 15 of this year.
The famous St. Andrew’s Cathedral used to serve as the main church of the schismatic “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.” However, that jurisdiction became part of the schismatic OCU and the Poroshenko government gave the church to the use of the Patriarchate of Constantinople as part of the deal to create an autocephalous jurisdiction in Ukraine.
Bishop Michael (Anischenko), an archimandrite at the time, was appointed as Constantinople’s Exarch in Kiev in January 2019. He was consecrated as a bishop in November 2020.
As Met. Onuphry’s decree notes, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been out of communion with Constantinople since the latter invaded UOC territory and established both a competing jurisdiction there and it’s own presence.
The resolution from the UOC Council of Bishops of November 13, 2018, reads:
The Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church considers the decisions of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from October 11, 2018 regarding the Ukrainian Church issue invalid, having no canonical force. In particular, the decision to establish the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the territory of Ukraine is the result of a speculative interpretation of Church history. And the decision to remove the anathema and other Church prohibitions from the leaders of the schism and the recognition of the validity of the pseudo-consecrations they celebrated while being in schism is the result of a distorted interpretation of Orthodox canons. The history of the Orthodox Church knows no instances of overcoming a schism by simply legalizing it. Having made such an anti-canonical decision, having recognized schismatics in their existing orders, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, according to the rules of the Church, itself embarked upon the path of schism. In this regard, the Eucharistic communion of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Patriarchate of Constantinople is currently impossible and discontinued.
The Union of Orthodox Journalists also notes that His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Volyn earlier suspended Archpriest Alexander Kolb for participating in the same service on September 24. He then apostatized from the Church and joined the schismatics.
In September, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill also suspended Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun for serving with the same Constantinople hierarch.
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