Metropolitan Epifaniy: OCU to never revert to old model of governance as Filaret requires
In an interview with BBC News Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, responded to the allegations of Patriarch Emeritus Filaret and shared his expectations as to how this confrontation might end.
Metropolitan Epifaniy stressed that the 65 hierarchs of the OCU are practically unanimous in the idea that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine should remain unified and should further assert its autocephalous status in order to secure recognition from other Orthodox Churches of the world, therefore the last statements by Patriarch Emeritus Filaret cannot cause a split in the Church.
“Although there is a statement by a certain hierarch, it does not find response in the hearts of our other fellow bishops who seek unity and are willing to further jointly develop the one recognized local Orthodox Church ... We value, we respect all good deeds of Patriarch Emeritus Filaret, but we will not support those erroneous thoughts that are detrimental,” the head of the OCU emphasized.
In his view, in the future, when the vast majority of Orthodox Ukrainians unite in the one local Orthodox Church, then they will apply for a patriarchate, “We do not consider this a top priority issue because we see that it is more likely to destroy unity than unite. We still have a lot to do in order to be recognized by other churches, assert our status, become the largest Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and then talk about upgrading to the patriarchate.
Metropolitan Epifaniy also responded to Filaret’s statements about his alleged lack of independence in the administration of the CPU, saying, “On December 15, at the Unification Council, we laid down another model of leadership of the Church. I personally, as a Primate, have no right to make amendments to the Charter, I have no right to violate the canonical order because what has been done at the Local Council should be realized. We want to be an open democratic Church, guided by the Synod, the Council of Bishops, and the Local Council. In my decisions, I heed to the opinion of the bishops and clergy.”
Metropolitan Epifaniy also emphasized that no one has the right to interfere in the internal affairs of the OCU – neither the state nor the other local Orthodox Church, even the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, it reserves the right to contact it for advice or explanation of certain points relating to the Tomos or the Charter of the Church.
Metropolitan Epifaniy will gladly accept the advice of Filaret, but not ultimatums, "It is necessary to understand the difference between advice and ultimatums. Talking to Patriarch Emeritus Filaret, I reiterated, I'm ready to listen to his advice. But I am not ready to fulfil certain ultimatums, because I have been elected lawfully at the Unified Council as Primate. The Metropolitan considers the pressure exerted on him and Filaret’s demands to him as “the humiliation of the Primate of the Church because they are incompatible with the Charter and the Tomos.”
The head of the OCU stated, “We cannot return to the old system of the Church governance. Patriarch Emeritus Filaret is willing to restore the old system of governance, is willing ... to keep everything subjected to the will of only one person. And I have a different vision - we must be guided not by fear of punishment, but love and mutual respect must prevail among us.
This is my vision of the development of the Church because if we return to the old one it will be a violation of the Charter and the Tomos, in which the rules of governance of the Church are clearly outlined. I was elected by majority vote at the Unification Council and accepted it as an expression of the will of God, therefore, as the Primate, I must abide by the canonical order, the Charter and the provisions of the Tomos. I do not have the right to violate them, satisfying the wishes of one or another hiersarch of our Church.”
