Filaret: Poroshenko does what he has to in questions of autocephaly
The head of the UOC KP admits that there will be no Tomos on the autocephalous Church for the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'
Filaret explains that the accusations of President Poroshenko of interfering in the Church affairs are untrue since he "does what the president has to do". The head of the Kiev Patriarchate said this in an interview with Lb.ua.
"Many of the Moscow Patriarchate accuse the President of interfering in the Church affairs. No, he does not interfere. He only does what the president has to do," Filaret believes.
He expressed confidence that the Tomos would be granted to the Ukrainian Local Church this year "without dates," and "with the bestowal of the Tomos nothing will be completed, on the contrary, everything will just begin".
According to Filaret, he is the only one who can lead an autocephalous Church in Ukraine: "I do not see candidates for other bishops who could manage the process and take on this cross."
As the UOJ reported, the Administration of the President sees in Filaret the problem on the way to the creation of the Single Local Church. The Presidential Administration is exerting pressure on the head of the UOC KP Filaret to prevent him from becoming Patriarch in case the Tomos on autocephaly in Ukraine is granted.
In mid-April, Poroshenko turned to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with a request to grant the Tomos on autocephaly to the Church in Ukraine and announced the creation of the Single Local Church. The Verkhovna Rada supported the President’s appeal. The Kiev Patriarchate has already stated that they see their leader Filaret, excommunicated by the canonical Church, as the head of the SLC.
