Met. Anthony: Phanar isn’t healing but legalizing the schism

Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary, Chancellor of the UOC

Phanar's decision to grant autocephaly to the Church in Ukraine is an anticanonical decision by one Church to intervene in the affairs of another Local Orthodox Church, said Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary, the chancellor of the UOC, in an interview with the "Vesti" edition.

"No matter how we call sin, it remains sin, no matter how we call schism, it remains schism. For some reason, Constantinople decided to employ precisely the reasons used by schismatics in conducting the healing process. And it is obvious already that this isn't healing the schism but, on the contrary, legalizing it. After all, it's impossible to create the truth by way of untruth. This way leads to an impasse from the very start. And it is clear that, if there is a canonical Church in Ukraine and if some parallel institution is artificially set up, in fact, this would be a schismatic institution," Metropolitan Anthony said.

It has been said increasingly more often about the existence of two ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the country in the future, Metropolitan Anthony said. "This scenario is destructive, as this would bury the very idea of a unified Orthodox church in Ukraine. It's for sure that there is not going to be a unified church in Ukraine not only in decades but also in centuries to come," he noted.

The bishop explained that, as it was stated, "negotiations are currently underway between the 'Kiev Patriarchate' and the 'autocephalous Church' on the possibility of their unification, as well as the election of the primate. The second stage, apparently, will be the liquidation of the UOC KP and the UAOC, which will be followed by the official registration of a new structure on their basis. This structure is supposed to claim for the Tomos".

As reported by the UOJ, Metropolitan of Borispol and Brovary Anthony, the chancellor of the UOC, has said that no Church, except Constantinople, will recognize the new church structure in Ukraine.

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