Patriarch Filaret completes visit to the United States (11/14/99)

Patriarch Filaret completes visit to the United States

by Irene Jarosewich

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Patriarch Filaret, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, was in the United States on a pastoral visit October 23-November 11, visiting his four U.S. parishes in Chicago, Cooper City, Fla., and Brunswick and North Royalton, Ohio. He also traveled to Ukrainian Orthodox parishes in Detroit, Rochester, N.Y., Bridgeport, Conn., and Northport, Fla. On November 4, during the patriarch's stay in Brunswick, a small sobor attended by approximately 70 people was held.

Patriarch Filaret's second visit to the United States in a year comes during a time of heightened tension within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the United States America (UOC/U.S.A.). Two issues fundamentally contribute to this tension: the nature and implications of the relationship between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the UOC/U.S.A.; and the lawsuit filed by Archbishop Antony and several dozen other plaintiffs against members of the parish council of the Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Clifton, N.J. (see related story on page 5).

Both these issues were addressed in most of the presentations and greetings during the banquet that was held for the patriarch in Seymour, Conn. Organized by Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Bridgeport, the banquet was attended by close to 300 guests from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, including representatives from local branches of Ukrainian community organizations. The banquet followed a divine liturgy that the patriarch celebrated at Holy Trinity Church.

The banquet's first speaker, Ivan Zakoworotny, representative of the Connecticut Committee for the Kyiv Patriarchate, reflected the general stance opposed to the actions of Archbishop Antony and the other hierarchs of the UOC/U.S.A. Mr. Zakoworotny noted that the recent decisions by the hierarchs of the UOC are a betrayal of the long struggle and many sacrifices made to sustain an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Between the greetings of the patriarch and expressions of gratitude for his visit, many of the speakers expressed feelings of anger and betrayal by the UOC hierarchs. Speakers noted that the decision to accept the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was made and presented as a fait accompli, that no real discussion was held on the implications of the decision, and that the bishops should have held discussions with their faithful before they agreed to become bishops under Constantinople, not after. Several speakers claimed the hierarchs showed disrespect for their faithful and for the very painful history of the Church and for the Church Constitution.

Furthermore, they emphasized that questioning the actions of hierarchs is not dissent, and as some of the speakers noted, the hierarchs still have not answered many questions. It is unclear, for example, what the UOC has to gain by giving up its autocephaly and submitting to Constantinople's jurisdiction. Also noted was that it is not clear why the hierarchs are unwilling to show the faithful the documents they signed in Constantinople. Speakers noted that this appears as arrogance and disrespect for the deep concerns that many of the faithful have with regard to the decision to join with Constantinople. At its core, the decision to go to Constantinople appears to betray the basic belief for many Ukrainian Orthodox that the Church must be independent and never be subordinated to another Church. Several speakers called upon parishes to review their by-laws and constitutions and reaffirm that they were, are and always will be parishes of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

Speakers noted that many people are not aware that the Church is involved in serious and costly litigation, a lawsuit that could deprive local parishes of their right to manage and control assets and property. The lawsuit should not have been filed until it was approved by the Metropolitan Council, but it was and this type of action on the part of Archbishop Antony can only be judged as yet another example of showing disrespect for the internal process of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its Constitution, speakers pointed out.

Besides Mr. Zakoworotny, among the approximately dozen speakers were the Rev. Stephan Posakivsky, administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in the U.S.A. of the Kyiv Patriarchate; Walter Mohuchy, trustee of Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a named defendant in the lawsuit; Dmytro Stepovyk, the director of the Kyiv Patriarchate's seminary in Ukraine, which has 1,500 students. Prof. Ivan Samilenko, former premier of the Ukrainian National Republic government-in-exile, delivered a greeting to the patriarch and spoke briefly.

Several representatives of local branches of Ukrainian community organizations also brought greetings to the patriarch, among them Roma Hayda, head of the Bridgeport chapter of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America. Mrs. Hayda remarked that "the UNWLA is inter-confessional, but we must remember that the culture we sustain is rooted in Kyivan Christian tradition, belonging to an age before our Churches were separate. We need to explore the depths of our heritage, find strength internally in the Kyiv tradition, which is the basis of Ukrainian culture."

Alexander Pryshlak, head of Ukrainian Community Organizations of Greater Hartford, brought greetings from that organization, as well as from the Ukrainian Patriarchal Society in the U.S.A., of which he is the head of the executive. He referred to the ideal envisioned by Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, the desire to create one Ukrainian Church. "This will require tolerance," he noted, "yet we all live with the idea of the unity of all the Ukrainian Churches."

Patriarch Filaret spoke for almost 40 minutes, covering topics from the current political situation in Ukraine, to Church history, to his vision for the future of the Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian nation. At the end of the divine liturgy earlier in the day, he had asked those gathered "to turn towards Kyiv, your spiritual mother, your homeland." He echoed that sentiment at the beginning of his presentation at the banquet, stating, "We feel that the Ukrainian spirit here has not died, rather, it is strong in its love for its homeland. They cannot separate you from Kyiv and its golden domes. You fought for the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and you have kept it alive here for all these years."

He also reiterated the ideal that there would be one Church in Ukraine, and noted how impressed he was with the way that Ukrainian Catholics and Ukrainian Orthodox live in harmony in the United States, offering this as an example to his communities in Ukraine.

"I have always emphasized that our two Churches are the only two Churches that defend the Ukrainian nation," he said, "All other Churches do not care or actively attempt to destroy the Ukrainian nation. That is one of our common positions, and it is distinctive from the position of all other Churches."

He continued: "Today the Kyiv Patriarchate is surrounded by enemies from all sides. Earlier, we had only one enemy - Moscow. Now we have Constantinople, which also is against our independent Church. Imagine, they came to our land, to Odesa and then recognized only the Russian Church, not an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And now we have another enemy, in America, in the bodies of the bishops. I will not include all the faithful - but the bishops are against us. Now we have Moscow, Constantinople and Bound Brook - even Ukrainians are against an independent Ukrainian Church."

Regardless of the attempts by enemies, noted the patriarch, an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church will overcome.

He called upon the government of Ukraine to help the Church, since without a Ukrainian Church, he noted, there will be no state. "All states that have arisen on the bones of fallen empires ... the Ottoman, the Soviet, have a role for the Church as the soul of their new nation," he said. "Moscow understands the role of the Church in state-building," he added, "therefore, it does everything to prevent one, strong, unified independent Church in Ukraine."

The patriarch stated that the Ukrainian people must vote for Leonid Kuchma for president and that Petro Symonenko, the Communist Party candidate, has already directly stated that he will support only the Moscow Patriarchate.

The patriarch spoke extensively about the situation of the Church in the diaspora:

"We can see how the Church that was once united under Patriarch Mstyslav, after his death is being divided into parts. ... They wanted to blame me ... while the hierarchs, some clergy and members of the Metropolitan Council are dragging the Church towards Constantinople; while the majority of parishes or parish boards oppose this, and rightfully so, because the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarch means that you will lose your autocephaly. Yet, in all your constitutions and by-laws, it is written that you are autocephalous; accepting the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarch and remaining an independent Orthodox Church are exclusive. You will become part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

"Did you recognize Mstyslav as your patriarch? In Ukraine we did and here you did; regardless of what they claim, we are one Church. To this day we consider all parishes of the Autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church here in America to be parishes of the Kyiv Patriarchate. The question is not about uniting with the Kyiv Patriarchate, you already are part of the Kyiv Patriarchate. The question is that you simply need to confirm this now that the bishops in Bound Brook are trying to divide us, [to confirm] that you are part of the Kyiv Patriarchate - and not "go over" to something to which you have always belonged."

At the end of the his presentation, the patriarch answered several questions for The Weekly, including a request for a response to the claim that the Kyiv Patriarchate originally supported the union of the UOC/U.S.A. with Constantinople. The patriarch answered: "We supported a Eucharistic union, but only a Eucharistic union, between the UOC/U.S.A. and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, our synod even issued such a statement. However, we did this with the condition that the UOC/U.S.A. use this new relationship to obtain recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Kyiv Patriarchate. I emphasize that I was in favor only of Eucharistic union, and not that the bishops of the UOC/U.S.A. accept the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on behalf of themselves and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the United States. However, now that it is clear that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew does not recognize us, then I do not support any relationship." [According to scholars familiar with the Orthodox Church, Eucharistic union means a communality enjoyed by all Orthodox Churches, that Churches can partake of the Eucharist together. Eucharistic unity does not support subordination and is not the same as accepting the omophorion of another Church - Ed. note.]

During his presentation the patriarch stated that Archbishop Antony was trying to confuse people, purposefully confusing the concepts of canonicity and recognition.

"You had cannons, sacraments 20 years ago ... your hierarchs were made bishops by Mstyslav - are they now saying that this was illegitimate? That they were illegitimate? So what changed so that suddenly you are not canonical? Nothing - as you were, you remain - other than that your hierarchs have taken you to another patriarch," he stated. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was always canonical, he noted, regardless of the claims made by other Churches. To not be recognized by other Orthodox Churches is altogether different; a Church can be canonical and not be recognized.

He added: "Orthodox Church canons forbid going over to another patriarch, so they are the ones that have violated the canons, and they want to eliminate the right of 'sobornopravnist' ... only a 'pomisnyi sobor' has the authority to make such decisions as leaving one Church and joining another, or leaving and forming an Autocephalous Church, and not in the way that it was done - secretly - with the participation of only a few hierarchs and clergy, and then presented as fact. It should have been approved beforehand."

The patriarch also warned his audience to be wary of the claims being made by the lawsuit that the parish property is being held in trust for the hierarchy of the Church. "The hierarchs already find themselves under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and they are now only the executors of the will of the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. ... Their titles are those of bishops of the patriarchate in Constantinople, regardless of their claims that they remain bishops of the Ukrainian Church. ... The hierarchs of the Constantinople Church cannot claim property of a Church that is not theirs, but they are trying to mix up things. They cannot claim your church property. ... Be careful."

He concluded: "Regardless of complicated situation in Ukraine, we are getting closer and closer to our goal. We are not only in Ukraine, but are found throughout world. We are slowly but surely coming out of our isolation. ... I see that Ukrainians here have a unified strength, regardless of deep differences, there is basically one goal - support for Ukraine - and all this goes for the benefit of our nation. Our nation is - and will be - and we will have one independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church."

| Home Page |