UOC KP Spokesman: Our Primate is archbishop, metropolitan, and patriarch
Eustratiy Zoria explains why Filaret has been given new titles.
Filaret is an "archbishop", a "metropolitan", and a "patriarch". This was announced on October 26 by Spokesman of the UOC KP Eustratiy Zoria during the press conference of Ukrinform "Ukrainian Church on the road to establishing autocephaly".
He reminded that the "synod" of the UOC KP had made an important decision to expand the title of the head of the Kiev "patriarchate" Filaret, who is now "Archbishop and Metropolitan of Kiev" and "Patriarch of All Rus-Ukraine".
“Historically, the title of archbishop refers to the first bishop among the bishops of the respective ecclesiastical region wih respective inhabitants,” Zoria began to explain. “As described in the 34th Apostolic Rule, it befits the bishops of every nation to know the first among them and recognize him as their head. Therefore, the first bishop is called the archbishop."
Further, the Spokesman of the UOC KP said that the metropolitan is a sign of the leadership of the relevant church area. “According to tradition and church regulations, the bishop who heads the church is at the same time the leader of the relevant ecclesiastic area – the capital,” said Zoria.
In turn, the patriarch is a title that emerged later than all, the press secretary of the UOC KP noted.
“And this is a title that concerns a large ecclesiastic area, a large church associated with certain people. Most primates have all these three titles. Following this, our church decided to introduce such a title, which reflects all these three hypostases,” the representative of the Kiev Patriarchate added.
Earlier, the “synod” of the UOC KP decided to expand the title of Filaret and add to it, in addition to the title of “patriarch”, the status of “archbishop” and “metropolitan”. At the same time, the Phanar, after the decisions adopted by the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate, considers Filaret a "former metropolitan of Kiev". In the ROC, the assignment of new titles to the head of the Kiev “patriarchate” was called a farce.
