Epiphany: There is such a saying – “The Spirit breathes where He wills”
The head of the OCU commented on the decision of the Synod of the Phanar to reinstate Filaret using a quote from the Gospel of John, which he called a proverb.
The head of the OCU Epiphany stated that he did not see any problems in the fact that the bishop's ordination of Filaret was returned by the decision of the Phanara "backdated". He stated this in an exclusive interview with BBS, the full version of which appeared on the Youtube channel.
"Constantinople declared Filaret's anathema invalid," commented Epiphanius. “Accordingly, everything that happened before this time is recognized as valid. And the grace of the Holy Spirit works everywhere. As they say, the Spirit works where He is to work, where He wills. There is even a saying: "The Spirit breathes where He wills."
Concluding his thought, Epiphany declared, "And Moscow cannot restrict the effect of the grace of the Holy Spirit by canons."
As a rule, Christians consider the phrase "the Spirit breathes where He wills" not a proverb but the words of Christ, which are given in the Gospel of John.
In a conversation with the Savior, one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, asks Jesus the question: “How can a person be born when he is old? Can he come into his mother’s womb another time and be born?” (John 3: 4). Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3: 5-8).
We recall that Epiphany is a "Doctor of Theology" and a professor of the Department of Biblical and Philological Disciplines of the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy of the UOC KP. Until recently, he has also been its rector.
Earlier, the head of the Polish Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Sawa, called Epiphany "a secular young man who suffered great harm when he was appointed metropolitan."
