The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which took place today, June 24, adopted a decision to subordinate all parishes and monasteries of Kyiv to the Primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy. Until recently, they had been subordinated to Patriarch Emeritus Filaret.
The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which took place today, June 24, adopted a decision to subordinate all parishes and monasteries of Kyiv to the Primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy. Until recently, they had been subordinated to Patriarch Emeritus Filaret.
Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya), who became the official representative of the Kyiv Metropolia of the OCU said it during the briefing. "The Synod has been discussing at length the attitude to the events that took place on June 20 during the meeting in St Volodymyr Cathedral, which Patriarch Emeritus Filaret called the Local Council of the UOC-KP, and has adopted the decision: "Due to the failure of Patriarch Emeritus Filaret to submit for registration the documents of the Diocese of Kyiv, it was decided to subordinate to the Primate of the OCU all the parishes and monasteries of the City of Kyiv, which until December 15 had been part of the Kyiv Patriarchate," the hierarch said.
The representative of the OCU also noted that Metropolitan Joasaph Shibayev of Belgorod and Vicar Bishop of the same diocese Peter Moskalkov were excluded from the episcopate of the OCU for participation in the activities provoking confrontation in the Church.
Archbishop Yevstratiy also reported that Archimandrite Andriy (Maruzak) and hieromonk Ilya (Zelensky), who were suspended from service, may submit during a month a written petition to the Holy Synod in the name of the Primate for consideration of their cases. "[The Synod] holds that the clergymen's consent to episcopal ordination without being elected so by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is the basis for a categorical refusal to uphold their possible future requests to be accepted as part of the episcopate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine," the hierarch read the decision of the Synod.
Taking into account the special merits in the past to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod of the OCU also decided to let Patriarch Filaret remain part of the episcopate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.