Filaret held Kyiv Patriarchate's Council of Bishops
On July 27, Patriarch Filaret held a session of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. Four bishops of this Church took part: Metropolitan Ioasaf of Belgorod and Oboyany, Bishop Ilya of Kharkiv and Bohodukhiv, Bishop Petro of Valuyky and Bishop Andriy of Vasylkiv.
It is reported by the press service of the UOC-KP.
According to the participants of the Council, after receiving Tomos, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is trying to destroy the Kyiv Patriarchate. The UOC-KP, in particular, states that the re-registration of the parish statutes of the Kyiv Patriarchate to the parish statutes of the OCU is often "achieved by illegal, violent methods and raider attacks".
The Council of Bishops, therefore, condemns the actions of the leadership of the OCU involving the seizure of churches and monasteries of the Kyiv Patriarchate.
Hierarchs of the UOC-KP also criticize the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, which removed from the registry the Kyiv Patriarchate and the Charter of the UOC-KP in the new version.
"The Council of Bishops is bound to acknowledge the unacceptable interference of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in the internal life of the Church. By its actions, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine destroys the Orthodox Church as the only Church that is independent from foreign centers. Whom does the Ministry of Culture serve in this case?" the UOC-KP asks a rhetorical question.
The Council appealed to the President of Ukraine, Prime Minister of Ukraine to stop the illegal interference of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in the internal life of the Church.
