Filaret: The destruction of UOC-KP is led by Patriarch Bartholomew
The head of the UOC-KP Filaret Denisenko believes that Patriarch Bartholomew is forcing the OCU to liquidate the “Kiev Patriarchate”.
On August 11, 2019, while delivering a sermon at St. Vladimir’s Cathedral of the UOC-KP, Filaret Denisenko said that “President Zelensky’s visit to Istanbul showed that the Ecumenical Patriarchate insisted that the Kiev Patriarchate should be destroyed in the near future”.
In his opinion, this is done for the reason that "a patriarchate is an independent church, and a metropolis is a church dependent on one or another patriarchate".
That is why, according to Denisenko, "the Ecumenical Patriarch is pushing Metropolitan Epiphanius to destroy the Kiev Patriarchate as soon as possible."
He is sure that all the actions that the OCU is taking to liquidate the UOC-KP are carried out under the Phanar’s pressure:
“They created the so-called liquidation commission. Who requested the creation of this commission? Epiphany and members of the Synod. Who did they request? Themselves. Is it possible to turn to oneself? And they turned to themselves and created a commission of themselves. Everything suggests that someone is putting pressure on them. And now we know that it is the Ecumenical Patriarch that is pressing.”
Denisenko ended his speech with words from the anthem of Ukraine: “The truth is with us because we want to have freedom and independence. Therefore, we sing: ‘We will put our soul and body for our freedom.’ And may the Lord help us all in this.”
As reported earlier, the head of the UOC-KP Filaret Denisenko called on his flock to protest against Epiphany Dumenko.