Synod of UOC-Moscow Patriarchate excludes Metropolitan Volodymyr's 'right hand'

With regard to the activity of the Secretary of Metropolitan Volodymyr, Archbishop Oleksandr (Drabynko) of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Vyshneve, Journal 23 of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) reads: "…the members of the Holy Synod of the UOC have to pay attention to discord generated in the life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the activity of Right Reverend Oleksandr (Drabynko), Archbishop of Pereiaslav Khmelnytskyi and Vyshneve, Vicar of the Kyivan Metropolitanate, head of the Department of External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the personal secretary to the head of the UOC. His destructive actions and unfitting behavior, intrigues and way of life sow discord and suspicion among the bishops and clergy and constitute a great temptation for the believers.

"Taking the advantage of his position as the secretary to the head of UOC, a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and head of the Department of External Church Relations, he allows himself to speak on the air of secular mass media, who treat our church with an ungrounded bias as it is, to openly criticize decisions of the highest church authority, artificially set off the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against its head, which is slander against the collective mind of the church and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. He allows himself to openly defame his brethren, the bishops, members of the Holy Synod of the UOC, organizes publication in anti-church mass media of strictly confidential church documents which are exclusively for the members of the Holy Synod to read."

The Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) passed a decision to dismiss Metropolitan Volodymyr's secretary, Archbishop Oleksandr (Drabynko) of Pereislav-Khmelnytskyi and Vyshneve from the position of the head of the Department of External Church Relations and Chief Editor of the website of the UOC and to exclude him from the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The journals of the session have been published by the website of the UOC.