HEAD OF KYIVAN PATRIARCHATE
SPEAKS ABOUT ATTEMPTS TO
DESTROY HIS CHURCH
"A year ago, an attempt was made to fight the Kyivan Patriarchate, to destroy it, to merge it with the Moscow Patriarchate. All the attempts were not successful. The attacks in Donetsk, Kyiv Oblast, in Kyiv, in other regions showed that not only our public (public organizations, political parties) but Europe and America stood up to defend the Kyivan Patriarchate," Patriarch Filaret said in an interview to Radio Freedom.
According to the hierarch, the people who intended to destroy the Kyivan Patriarchate realized that it is better not to touch it. The patriarch said it was indicated by the meeting of the president with representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches. It showed that in Ukraine, despite the presence of many religions, all Christians churches coexist peacefully. "It is another indication that the Kyivan Patriarchate exists and will continue to exist," stressed Patriarch Filaret.
According to the head of the church, in the last 20 years, the number of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate has grown four times. Canonicity or non-canonicity of the UOC-KP "are simply fantasies of Moscow."
"We should thank God for giving us an independent state. The Ukrainian nation struggled for independence for nearly a century. When the time came, the Lord finally gave us the independence and we thank Him for that. Twenty years have passed, which shows that Ukraine as a state exists and will continue to exist. It is a sufficient time to see if an independent country is going to remain such. Presidents replace each other, but every one of them defends the interests of his state.
"We all are glad that the independent Ukrainian Church, the Kyivan Patriarchate was established in independent Ukraine. In the beginning, no one believed that it was to stay. In these twenty years, the size of Kyivan Patriarchate has quadrupled. In 1992, we had about 1,200 parishes and 12 bishops. Today, the numbers reached 4,500 and 41 accordingly. The Kyivan Patriarchate today is completely self-maintained and enjoys the support of the people," said the hierarch. According to Patriarch Filaret, the time has come for the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches to establish one local autocephalous church.
"We celebrate the 20th anniversary of our independent state, we celebrate our church victory. We hope to reach [editor: the establishment of] one Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Our confidence is based on several moments. First, it is the existence of the state itself. When there is a state, there must be also the independent Ukrainian Church. Today, it is divided. But one can already see in the other part of the church, the Moscow Patriarchate, a division. A part of the Ukrainian population understood that they want to be fully independent from Russia and the other part, on the contrary, seeks to unite with Moscow. But the part of the church seeking independence will be victorious. Then, we will unite in one local Orthodox church. The timing depends on God. We cannot know the time exactly, but we are sure we will reach it. We were confident of establishing the Kyivan Patriarchate in 1992 and, in the same way, we are confident of establishing one Ukrainian Orthodox Church. That is why we celebrate the 20th anniversary with confidence and optimism," said the patriarch.
