UOC-KP holds "Bishop's Council"
The "Bishops' Council" of the Kyiv Patriarchate did not recognize as canonical the decision of the OCU on the liquidation of the UOC-KP.
On December 14, 2019, the Kyiv Patriarchate held the “Council of Bishops”, which did not recognize as canonical the decision to complete the liquidation of the UOC-KP by the liquidation commission of the UOC, reports the official website of the UOC-KP.
The “hierarchy” of the UOC-KP reminded the representatives of the OCU that “on June 20, 2019, at the Local Council, which was held at St. Vladimir’s Cathedral, and which Metropolitan Epiphany disrespectfully calls the “illegal assembly”, the UOC-KP left the OCU”.
In this regard, members of the UOC-KP believe that the “Synod” of the OCU “did not have the right to create a liquidation commission over someone else’s Church”, especially since “the UOC-KP left the OCU on June 20, 2019, and the liquidation commission was created on July 27, 2019, with a big delay."
Representatives of the UOC-KP also stated that the process of liquidation of their structure led to the “paralysis of the life of the Kyiv Patriarchate. The National Bank closed our accounts. We cannot pay taxes of the workers of the patriarchy, we cannot pay utility bills, and winter has come.”
In this regard, the “Council” of the UOC-KP turned to the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky with a request “to ensure the religious rights and freedoms of the faithful of the Kyiv Patriarchate” because a violation of their rights “harms the image of Ukraine as a corrupt state, and now also the country where religious freedoms are violated."
The “Council” also appealed to “Orthodox Ukrainians, Orthodox public organizations, the defenders of the Ukrainian state — glorious warriors, the Ukrainian intelligentsia, the Ukrainian Cossacks and all citizens of Ukraine with a request to prevent the illegal, unlawful liquidation of the UOC-KP, which is truly an independent Local Ukrainian Orthodox Church and does not serve the interests of the Moscow nor Constantinople Churches, but its independent Church and the Ukrainian people".
As reported earlier, Filaret announced a forum in defense of the UOC-KP and intends to appeal to the UN and the OSCE.
