“Onufriy - retired, Agafangel - transitional, Filaret - permanently”: Media predict developments following the revocation of the citizenship of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The popular publication Novaya Gazeta Europe published an article in which the author outlined his assumptions about how events will unfold in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after the deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship of the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry. According to the author of the article, due to the current situation, Metropolitan Onufry will not be able to fully perform his duties and will therefore be sent into retirement. At the same time, the head of the UOC will be temporarily replaced by Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail, after which a Primate more loyal to the government will be elected, who, according to the author, will be Metropolitan Filaret of Lviv. The article was published on the Novaya Gazeta Europe website.

«If Onufry decides to retire, he may leave the country (but not to Russia, but, for example, to Mount Athos in Greece) and a new Primate of the UOC will be elected, one who is not approved by Moscow and is inclined to seek a compromise with the authorities. Ukrainian experts most often name Odessa Metropolitan Agafangel (Savvin) as a possible candidate for the transitional period, and Lviv Metropolitan Filaret (Kucherov) for a longer term. If the new primate removes the signs of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church identified by the DESS, the UOC will retain its former status and structure,» — the publication notes.

Earlier, Ukrainian lawyer Yevgen Morozov spoke about the possible consequences of losing Ukrainian citizenship for the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry. Among the possible scenarios for further developments, the lawyer mentioned the loss of voting rights and the possibility of deportation from Ukraine.