Filaret explains why the head of Phanar is called "Ecumenical Patriarch"
The head of the UOC-KP stated that no council granted Constantinople such a title; the Phanar appropriated it arbitrarily.
Filaret Denisenko, in an interview with Ukraine World News, shared his thoughts on Patriarch Bartholomew and explained why he is called "ecumenical".
Filaret stated that he had met with Bartholomew many times—in Kyiv, Geneva, and Istanbul.
"He is the Ecumenical Patriarch. Why ecumenical? Because the Greeks (have spread—Ed.) all over the earth, across the universe. And since they are in his jursdiction, he calls himself the 'Ecumenical Patriarch'. Although no council gave him the title of the Ecumenical Patriarch. He gave himself that title," Filaret said.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that a letter from the head of the Phanar confirming the anathema of Filaret had been published in the media.