“THE NATIONAL UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH KYIV PATRIARCHATE” The Historical and Canonical Declaration of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate Dated April 19, 2007 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Resolution of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, dated April 19, 2007 …………………………………………………………..…. 4 The Historical and Canonical Declaration of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, dated April 19, 2007 ……………............. 6 I. The Church ............................................................................................................................ 6 II. The Canons ........................................................................................................................... 9 III. The Collegiality of the Church National (Autocephalous) Churches ........................................................................... 11 IV. Conditions for the declaration of autocephaly of a Church ................................................... 13 1. The requirements.................................................................................................................... 13 2. The satisfaction of requirements for autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church ............................ 14 3. A brief statement regarding the current state of the UOC Kyiv Patriarchate …………………. 15 V. A brief outline of the declarations of autocephaly of the main National Churches ................ 15 1. Ancient Patriarchates and the Cyprian Church ...................................................................... 15 2. The Georgian Church ............................................................................................................ 17 3. The Bulgarian Church ............................................................................................................ 18 4. The Serbian Church ............................................................................................................... 19 5. The Greek, Romanian and Albanian Churches ..................................................................... 20 6. The Polish Church ................................................................................................................. 21 7. The Macedonian and Montenegro Churches ........................................................................ 22 8. The Russian Church .............................................................................................................. 22 9. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 23 VI. Historical prerequisites of establishment of the UOC Kyiv Patriarchate ............................... 24 1. The Ukrainian Church until XX century .................................................................................. 24 2. The struggle for autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church before World War II .......................... 25 3. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (1942 formation)......................................... 27 4. The history of the modern period of the Ukrainian Church..................................................... 29 5. The schism of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church ...................................................................... 30 VII. The legitimate National Council of the UOC of November 1-3, 1991 and the schismatic so-called “Kharkiv Council” of May 27, 1992 ………………………..……… 33 1. The Legitimate National Council ………………………………………………………………….. 33 2. The true reason of the schism – the desire to preserve the administrative unity of the Russian Orthodox Church …………………………………................................................. 36 3. The theory of “Moscow – the Third Rome”............................................................................. 37 4. The schismatic, so-called “Kharkiv Council” .......................................................................... 40 5. The acceptance by the Church of Council resolutions .......................................................... 45 VIII. The Grace of Holy Sacraments: Baptism ........................................................................... 48 2 1. The Unrepeated Sacrament of Baptism ................................................................................ 48 2. What are heresy, schism and arbitrary assemblage? ........................................................... 52 3. Does the Kyiv Patriarchate fit the definition of heresy, schism, or arbitrary assemblage? ............................................................................................... 54 4. The dispute between the Orthodox and the Donatists concerning the consecration of those who denied Christ during the persecutions .................................................................. 55 IX. The hierarchy of the Kyiv Patriarchate. Patriarch Filaret and his unlawful “defrocking”............................................................................ 59 1. The hierarchy of the Kyiv Patriarchate and today‟s UAOC .................................................... 59 2. The incrimination against the Primate of the UOC................................................................. 60 3. The Council of Bishops of the ROC (April, 1992) .................................................................. 62 4. Abdication from the Cathedral Throne ................................................................................... 63 5. The Council of Bishops of the ROC (June 11, 1992) and so-called “Judicial action” .................................................................................................. 66 6. The appeal of Metropolitan Filaret to the Primates of National Churches ............................. 72 7. The trial of Saint Athanasy of Alexandria …………………………………………………….... 72 8. The trial of Saint John Chrysostom …………......................................................................... 74 X. The so-called “ANATHEMATIZATION” of Patriarch Filaret ................................................... 76 1. How the Apostles used the anathema (condemnation).......................................................... 76 2. How the anathema was used by the Ancient Church ……..................................................... 77 3. The anathema against Metropolitan Gregory (Tsamblak) ..................................................... 79 4. Mutual anathematization during Brest Councils of 1596 ....................................................... 80 5. Anathemas by the Russian Church for Non-Religious Reasons ………................................ 81 6. Excommunication and church punishments during the Soviet period…................................. 82 7. Conflict between the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCA ......................................................... 84 ХI. The position of the Kyiv Patriarchate towards the UOC-MP and UAOC .............................. 85 1. The position toward the UOC-MP .......................................................................................... 85 2. The UOC-MP, as a church-administrative structure, cannot be called a Church .................. 86 3. A warning to the hierarchy, the clergy and the laity of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate 86 4. Position toward the UAOC .................................................................................................... 88 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 90 3 R E S O L U T I O N OF THE COUNCIL OF BISHOPS OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH KYIV PATRIARCHATE APRIL 19, 2007 Having, by God‟s Grace, convened in the golden-domed city of Kyiv under the leadership of His Holiness Filaret, the Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine and having heard his report of the current state of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and possible means for overcoming the extant church division, the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate RESOLVES 1. To accept and publish the Historical and Canonical Declaration of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate entitled “THE NATIONAL UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH KYIV PATRIARCHATE”, which reflects the views of the Kyiv Patriarchate regarding the main causes of the division of the Church in Ukraine. 2. In order to educate the hierarchy, clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) of the dogma and canonical principles by which the Kyiv Patriarchate is guided, and further as the leadership of the UOC-MP and of the UAOC regularly refer to these canons as an excuse not to discuss with the Kyiv Patriarchate in the creation of a united National Orthodox Church in Ukraine, to bless the study of the historic-canonical Declaration in theological educational institutions of the UOC Kyiv Patriarchate and to widely circulate this Declaration among the Orthodox believers in Ukraine; to translate this Declaration into the Russian language; and to send the Declaration to the Primates of all National Orthodox Churches. 3. To send the Declaration to the President of Ukraine, to the national leaders of Ukraine, to the heads of Oblast and Regional councils and government administrations, and to the administrative organs of local governments. 4. To call special attention of the leadership of the UOC-MP to the utter inadmissibility of the existence, in this church,