Filaret: SLC will include only those who asked Phanar for Tomos
Only the hierarchs who signed the appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople will join the Single Local Church, said the head of the UOC KP.
Only those who asked for the Tomos will take part in the "Unification Council". This was said by the head of the Kiev Patriarchate Filaret on the sidelines of the conference "Postal Square in Kiev: Historical and Spiritual Dimension", reports a UOJ correspondent.
Filaret confirmed his intention to lead the SLC. "I still intend to lead the Single Local Church," he explained.
"Only those who requested the Ecumenical Patriarch will take part in the 'Council'. And those who did not apply do not have the right to be at this 'Council'. The 'Council' will be held after a decision on the Tomos is taken. The 'Council' will bear witness of the unification of all three churches, the fact that there is one Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and elect its primate," Filaret said.
Since all the "bishops" of the UOC KP and the UAOC signed the April Appeal to Constantinople, it is obvious that Filaret meant the bishops of the UOC.
The head of the UOC KP has repeatedly stated that the Kiev-Pechersk and the Pochaev Lavras, which belong to the UOC, should transfer to the new Local Church, which Filaret himself plans to lead. Filaret stressed that he sees his mission in the growth of the UOC KP structure and explained that he sees this as God's intervention, which allowed the war in the Donbass.
