OCU bans Filaret's "hierarchs" from priesthood

On February 2, 2022, the “holy synod” of the OCU banned the “hierarchs” of the UOC-KP from priesthood and threatened them with deprivation of “holy dignity,” the official website of Dumenko’s organization reports.

The OCU resolved that “all persons who, in violation of the canons and the Statute” of the OCU, without being elected by the “Holy Synod” and without the permission of Dumenko, starting from June 2019, “were consecrated Bishops by Filaret (Denisenko)”, in fact, do not have an episcopal ordination and dignity, and therefore, “for the predatory appropriation of episcopal titles and powers and other actions aimed at provoking divisions” in the OCU, “these persons are subject to ecclesiastical court and deprivation of holy dignity.”

At the same time, the “synod” of the OCU decided that “former Metropolitan Joasaph (Shibaev) of Belgorod and Oboyan, former Bishop Filaret (Panka) of Belgorod-Dniester and former Bishop Peter (Moskalev) of Valuiki for gross violation of the canonical order, participation in illegal meetings and the so-called episcopal consecrations in Kyiv were banned from priesthood” and summoned to the court of the OCU on charges that “they are subject to defrocking.”

However, as early as June 24, 2019, the “holy synod” of the OCU expelled all these "bishops" from the "episcopate" of the OCU “for active participation in actions aimed at inciting opposition in the ecclesiastical environment, conscious opposition to conciliar decisions, violation of the 34th Apostolic Canon, participation in ordinations in a foreign diocese contrary to the Statute and canonical rules".

In addition, the representative of the UOC-KP, "Metropolitan" Joasaph Shibaev, claimed that neither he nor his "vicar" Peter Moskalev had ever been part of the "episcopate of the OCU".

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