Sumy hierarch clarifies whether UOC Council was "not free"
According to Metropolitan Yevlohiy, all decisions at the Council were made freely, without any external influence or coercion.
Metropolitan Yevlohiy of Sumy stated on his Facebook page that the UOC Council in Feofania was "truly free".
"As a bishop and a direct participant in the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Feofania on May 27, 2022, I can confidently testify: the currently spreading claims that this Council allegedly took place 'under the pressure of special services' do not correspond to reality," stated the metropolitan.
According to him, the Council took place in the spirit of brotherly communication, open and healthy discussion.
"All decisions were made freely, without any external influence or coercion. Personally, I did not hear from any of the participants - neither from the bishops, nor from the delegates from the clergy, monastics, or laity - that anyone experienced pressure or received threats from the so-called 'people in uniform'," the metropolitan emphasized.
He stated that "any attempts to present this important Council for our Church as 'not free' are a distortion of facts and disrespect to the entire church community, which at the Council sincerely sought to preserve unity and peace in the body of the Church of Christ."
It can be assumed that Metropolitan Yevlohiy's statement is related to the interview of Cherkasy Metropolitan Theodosiy, in which he reported that the UOC Council in Feofania was "not free".
According to him, a number of hierarchs were told by people in uniform: "If you do not make any decisions in Feofania when you go there, you may not return to the eparchy."
