Rector of KTAIS: If the Council in Theophany was "driven", then why is it possible to criticize it now?

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, Archbishop Silvester (Stoychev), has refuted the information of a number of UOC bishops that the Council in Theophany in 2022 was «hustled at gunpoint». The archbishop recalled that each participant of the Council in the hierarchical rank had the opportunity to vote for the decisions twice. In addition, the Rector of KTAIS expressed bewilderment as to why now, four years after the Council, some hierarchs of the UOC have the opportunity to constantly criticize its decisions. The rector of KTAiS told about it in a comment to the cleric of the Odessa diocese of the UOC Archdeacon Andrei Palchuk in Facebook.

«This is an absolute untruth! And, I think it is not just a question of historical accuracy, but the conscientiousness of those who talk about it. Let’s be straightforward: what’s stopping these people from criticizing the Council in Theophany now? If then they were driven or brought or threatened, why is it now possible to speak and criticize, and sometimes in very harsh terms, the Council in Theophany and its decisions? Accordingly, if we look at a number of statements, we will see that they are «strained» by the very fact of the form in which they were made. Once again I repeat that every bishop had the opportunity to vote twice on the day of the Council: first as a participant of the Council of Bishops of the UOC, and then as a participant of the Council of the UOC», — said Archbishop Silvester.

In addition, the Rector of KTAIS believes that attacks on the Council and its decisions level trust in the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to Archbishop Sylvester’s assurances, Metropolitan Onuphrius had every right to hold such events according to the Charter of the UOC.

«Among other things, this is a matter of trust in our Primate. Because our Primate His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius initiated the convening of the Council. And I would like to note that all the Statutes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that exist, all the editions that existed before the Council in Theophany, say that this is the prerogative of the Metropolitan of Kyiv. And His Beatitude has repeatedly, including publicly and officially, spoken about the Council in Theophany and the significance of the decisions made. Therefore, everything is simple: on the one hand the authority of our Primate, and on the other hand — those who criticize and, moreover, tell that they were driven there. I think that everyone has the opportunity to choose between the words of our Primate and the opposite, » he added.

We will remind, earlier Metropolitan of Cherkasy and Kanev Theodosius (Snigiryov) said that the Council in Theophany in 2022, was held under pressure from intelligence services. The bishop noted that the hierarchs of the UOC were threatened by people «in shoulder straps» before participating in the council, demanding that they make «necessary decisions».