On February 22, the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) held a council on the current state of affairs in the UAOC.
The representatives of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UAOC criticized the decrees of the Hierarchical Council of UAOC of February 3, 2011, according to which Bishop Kulyk Ruslan-Bohdan-Adrian was appointed bishop of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UAOC. The representatives of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UAOC view this appointment as one which was made in violation of the church canons as four bishops were absent from the Hierarchical Council and one bishop refused to sign the resolution. The representatives of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy stated that they refuse to accept the newly appointed bishop and to recognize the decision of the Hierarchical Council.
The representatives of the eparchy reproach Metropolitan Mefodii for the fact that he has not convened the Local Council of the UAOC for three times whereas the statutes of the church of 2000 envisage that the local council should be convened “at least once in three years.” The bishops also stressed that meetings of the Patriarchal Council, which is the permanent executive government body of the UAOC among the Local Councils, are not held.
The Eparchial Council of the UAOC accuses Metropolitan Mefodii of ignoring Resolution 2 of the Local Council regarding fulfillment of the last will of Patriarch Dymytrii, according to which Metropolitan Costiantyn of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA is to be the guardian of the UAOC until the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Local Council.
The Council of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UAOC has decreed to address Metropolitan Costiantyn and Metropolitan Andrii of Halych as the senior consecrated hierarch with a request to lead the process of convocation of the Local Council of UAOC. The council of the eparchy also decreed to recognize Metropolitan Roman of Vinnytsia and Bratslav as its ruling bishop and to let the building of the Consistory of the UAOC in the town of Kamianets Podilskyi remain in his subordination. The Extraordinary Council of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy has decreed to recognize the head of the UAOC, Metropolitan Mefodii, “as one that has dissociated himself from fulfillment of the responsibilities of the head by failing to comply with the church canons and statutes of the UAOC.”
All the parishes of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy are to be informed of the decree of the Eparchial Council.