More and more questions arise because of all statements made by Patriarch Bartholomew recently.

These are not idle questions, they come from our floc.

First of all, let’s talk about understanding the titulus of “Ecumenical Patriarch”. There is so much to dwell about the historical origin of this titulus, about how it was understood in the fifth or eleventh centuries. But more important for us is that the Patriarch of Constantinople, based on his actions, understands this titulus quite literally - as the claim to dominion of Universal Church. Patriarch Bartholomew allows himself to intervene in other local Churches’ affairs exactly in this way.

Our multimillion floc and us, eparchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, have the right to ask: which reasons do these claims have?

The episcopacy of our Church elected our Primate His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriyin at the Bishops’ Council in 2014. That’s why he is the Lord and the Father for our parishes, clergy, and laypeople. It’s so obvious.

So, it’s rightfully to inquire why the Patriarch elected by a few eparchs of another Church on the territory of Turkey (which government, by the way, doesn’t call him other than “Istanbulian, Phanarian, Greek Patriarch”), should ever be our Lord and Father?

If “the Ecumenical Patriarch” is something more than just one of magnificent titles of the distant byzantian epoch, so why this Patriarch is not elected by the whole Universal Church? The Patriarch of Rome, who also pretends to the universal dominion within his affiliation, is elected nevertheless by the College of Cardinals representing the whole Roman Church. But did the Churches, which affairs are heavily intervened by Patriarch Bartholomew, elect him?

Certainly, you can handle the ancient documents as you like or quote canons out of context and drag the precedents of bygone era in. But the fact remains: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not a figment, it’s people. The millions of people who are used to persecution, who are not afraid of overseas warnings, who continue to stand by their Hierarchy without regard to those who love “seats… and words of respect” (Luke 11:43) and lay claim to what they have no authority to. It will be necessary to defer to the church people.

Recorded by Natalia Goroshkova