PATRIARCH FILARET TO UAPTs BISHOPS: ADVANCE OF NEW, DELIBERATELY UNACCEPTABLE CONDITIONS IS ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT UNIFICATION
Patriarch Filaret is concerned about the possibility of a disruption of the process of unification with UAPTs. He says that 14 September is a critical date for conducting a joint Unification Local Sobor. Attempts to transfer this date to a later time will signify a desire to draw out the matter and prevent unification.
This is said in an appeal from the UPTsKP primate to UAPTs.
"We are concerned that the time specified in the Concluding Decision, before 30 June of this year, by which our synod and your bishops' council must make a decision about convening the Unification Sobor, has already been violated. Although it was upon the suggestion on the part of the UAPTs commission that the date of before the end of June was approved. Our synod made the decision back on 18 June. We know from news media that the bishops' council of UAPTs, which was supposed to be held before the end of June, is scheduled for 9 July. We hope that this departure from the previous agreement is of only a technical character," the document says.
Patriarch Filaret presented his vision on a number of fundamental matters pertaining to unification itself.
In the event of the unification of the two churches he, specifically, suggests that the UAPTs retain all of the actually existing structures—dioceses, vicarates, deaneries. Bishops will retain the administration of those parishes that they administer now.
Regarding the choice of the name of the unified church created on the foundation of UAPTs and KP, in this case he thinks it useful to honor the nuances of Ukrainian legislation.
"It should be understood that in this matter we all should take into account not only our theoretical desires but also the reality of Ukrainian legislation. A complete change of the official name to 'Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate' will mean for each diocese, monastery, and parish, that is, for more than 6,000 registered religious organizations of both of our churches, not only the registration of changes in their charter but also drawing up of new legal and property documents, from changes in the state register of legal entities, changes in documents for land, documents for church buildings, and other property to changes in agreements for providing utilities and the replacement of seals. I do not think, vladykas, fathers, and brothers, that you really want to go through again all these juridical procedures merely because there is an opinion that such a name is better," the prelate argues.
"We propose retaining the name "UPTs Kiev Patriarchate" for the church as a whole, but all dioceses, monasteries, and parishes that want to retain their name "UAPTs" will retain it. It will be sufficient only to insert into a charter one addition regarding the affiliation of the religious organization with the united church," Vladyka Filaret continues his thought.
The composition of delegates at the Unification Sobor, he notes, should be constituted on the principles of equality of rights and generally accepted practice.
"As regards delegates to the Unification Local Sobor, then in our position we proceed from the practice that exists both in our church and in your church, just as also in the Ukrainian churches in the diaspora: delegates are selected on an equality of rights basis and they represent an equal number as those who delegate them. For example, at the time of your last local council, representation of each diocese was determined on the basis of the number of parishes in it and not on the basis of an equal number of delegates from each diocese. This corresponds to ancient church practice and the adoption at the council of a decision by majority vote is the way councils of ancient times proceeded and how they proceed even now," the patriarch says.
In his appeal to the UAPTs, the UPTsKP primate emphasized that the ecumenical patriarch is following the unification processes attentively, on whom depends the recognition of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
"I am sure that the dragging out of the unification process and the advance of new, additional, deliberately unacceptable conditions--all of this that happened often in the past—shows not only to the Ukrainian people but also to the ecumenical patriarch who regards the future of the Ukrainian church responsibly and who does not. I am sure that the business of building a united local Ukrainian Orthodox church and its recognition on the part of ecumenical Orthodoxy will come about in the future but without those who do not understand and do not feel their personal accountability before God, the church, and Ukraine," Patriarch Filaret of the UPTsKP stressed. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 July 2015)
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