Patriarch Filaret did not provide the original documents for the liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (KP) during the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. That’s why the church hierarchs predicted the possibility of a current scandal.
The head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Macarius, explained the situation to “Apostrophe”.
According to him, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church is not yet removed from the state register.
“I’ll explain why. Some officials lied when they claimed the Kyiv Patriarchate has been liquidated. The thing is, Patriarch Filaret only provided copies of the documents necessary for liquidation. There were no originals. When I was asked to hand over my liquidation documents, I said I wouldn’t do that until I saw the originals from the other side,” Macarius stated.
The Metropolitan also noted that he foresaw such difficulties and refused the Order of Yaroslav the Wise that former President Poroshenko wanted to reward him with,.
“I didn’t want the journalists to criticize me together with the Hero of Ukraine (Patriarch Filaret that received this award earlier in 2019, - “Apostrophe”) for the disputes in the new church. If President Poroshenko asked for my advice then, I would recommend him to see that Filaret hands over the original documents before awarding him with the Hero of Ukraine title,” the priest remarked.
Read the details about this scandal in the “Apostrophe’s” interview with the head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Macarius: “If such a mess continues, we may lose Tomos”.