OCU calls election of new head of UOC-KP a "special church operation" of Russian special services

OCU spokesperson Yevstratiy Zorya characterized the activities of the group of people who announced the creation of a structure headed by the «new patriarch of the UOC-KP» Nikodim Kobzar as a planned operation by Russian special services. According to Zoria, this activity is directed against the interests of Ukraine and requires not only a public reaction, but also an appropriate legal assessment by state authorities.

According to the press service of the OCU, Yevstratiy Zorya emphasized the complete illegitimacy of the actions of the group. According to the current Statute of the UOC-KP, after the death of the «patriarch,» the duties of the locum tenens should be performed by the «patriarchal vicar,» who has been Epiphany Dumenko since 2013. The election of a new head of the church is possible only by the «Local Council with the participation of the bishops, clergy and laity.» According to the representative of the OCU, Nikodim Kobzar is not even a bishop — he was previously banned from ministry «for schismatic activities and is now subject to church court.»

During the speech, it was noted that the key initiators of statements on behalf of the UOC-KP, such as Ioasaf Shibayev and Petro Moskalev, are in the Russian Federation and apparently operate under the control of the special services of the aggressor country. The OCU also does not officially recognize any «episcopal ordinations» performed on behalf of the UOC-KP after December 15, 2018. Consequently, all persons claiming to hold titles and positions in this structure are not clergymen «from a canonical point of view.»

Zorya also pointed to the alleged connection of Nikodim Kobzar with the entourage of the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Jonathan (Yelets) and former MP Andriy Derkach, who is recognized as an agent of the Russian special services. Particular attention is paid to the fact that the news about the «revival of the UOC-KP» is most widely spread in media resources related to the interests of the Moscow Patriarchate, which confirms the version of external coordination of these processes.

As a reminder, after the death and burial of the head of the UOC-KP, Filaret Denisenko, an internal conflict erupted over the procedure for electing a successor. In a statement, the secretary of the UOC-KP Synod, Andriy Marutsak, accused some hierarchs of gross violations of the church charter and an attempt to seize power behind the scenes.