Metropolitan Makariy, the Primate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, commented on the claims of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate Filaret about the procedures for holding the Unification Council, Informator reported citing Glavkom.
Metropolitan Makariy, the Primate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, commented on the claims of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate Filaret about the procedures for holding the Unification Council, Informator reported citing Glavkom.
"How can the council be the Council of Bishops, if one priest and one layman with a bishop are invited? You know, I will not judge anyone. We are temporarily subject to Ecumenical Patriarchate. It was clearly stated that every bishop shall take one priest and one layman with him,” said the head of the UAOC.
Answering the question of whether something can interfere with the conduct of the Council, despite the differences that exist in different churches, he said:
“I will not complain to anyone. For my part, I will answer simply: we will come to the Council at the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch.”
Metropolitan Makariy also commented on the request of Patriarch Filaret of the open vote for the candidate head of the Ukrainian Church. “The vote will be secret, although Patriarch Filaret says that he is open, but no one will go for an open ballot. Both our statute and that of the Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate provide that the Primate is elected by the Local Council by secret ballot,” said the head of the UAOC.
As RISU has reported, in the UOC-KP there are disagreements with the Ecumenical Patriarchate regarding the very procedure of the Unification Council.
UOC KP insists that the unification council should involve only Ukrainian bishops. Constantinople has appointed the Special Exarch, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, which will lead the conciliar process in collaboration with the Constantinople Exarch in Ukraine.
The UOC-KP speaks for an open vote, while Constantinople insist on the secret vote.
The UOC KP advocates that only Ukrainian hierarchs have the right to vote at the unification council to be held in Kyiv on 15 December.
Representatives of monks, laymen and priests may be present at the Council, but should not have the right to vote.
Constantinople also proposes that laymen and monks be entitled to vote in the election of three candidates to the office of the Primate of the new Church, while the hierarchs will vote already for these three candidates.