Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate Patriarch (UOC-KP) Filaret has said that Moscow Patriarchate intends to destroy the UOC-KP and warned against the inter-confessional fighting in the country.
"I want to state that there an attempt to implement the ambitious plan aimed at the collapse and destruction of Kyiv Patriarchate is being carried out in Ukraine," Patriarch Filaret said in a statement, posted on the Web site of the UOC-KP.
He said that the plan was set up in Moscow and suggested by Moscow Patriarch Kirill and his subordinates.
The head of the UOC-KP noted that the public authorities are expected to play a decisive role in this regard. "I regret to say that the representatives of local authorities are directly involved in all these events, and that the simultaneity and coherence of actions suggests that they have support from the metropolitan offices," he said in a statement.
Patriarch Filaret also urged the authorities and President Viktor Yanukovych "to start a real and fruitful dialogue, otherwise Ukraine may return to the inter-church struggle of the early 90’s."
"I hope that in 2011 there will be changes for the better," the head of the UOC-KP said.
