“We can say that the new split has already occurred, and it led to the fact that more jurisdictions have already been created on the territory of Ukraine than was the case even with the creation of a local church in Ukraine. What happened is a consequence of the ongoing divorce and strengthening of the local church of Ukraine, its lean towards the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the divorce with the old leadership of the Kiev Patriarchate represented by Patriarch Philaret, ”Lunkin noted.
According to the expert, the fact that such events will take place was understandable from the very beginning.
Patriarch Filaret hoped to be not only a gray cardinal, but even the actual head of the church, but it turned out that Epiphanius outplayed him in this, Lunkin added.
“In addition, all these decisions about the deprivation of the right to administer the Kiev Diocese, which has remained with Filaret, are related to property issues. Ecclesiastical divorce breeds controversy over ecclesiastical property, which the Kyiv Patriarchate previously possessed, and since the registration of the local church, Epiphany began to possess the PCU. According to the authorities, if they can be trusted, the Kiev Patriarchate is no longer a legal entity, but Patriarch Filaret decided to revive it. Whether it will work out or not is a big question, in this situation President Zelensky will prefer to distance himself from all church structures, ”he concluded.
It became known earlier that the Synod of the PCU had deprived Filaret of the right to manage the diocese.