During the meeting with the exarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Kyiv on August 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated the need to create a Ukrainian Patriarchate
This was reported by LB.ua.
“I said that our people, Ukrainians, would understand if our status was elevated to patriarchate. The exarchs have accepted the information and will convey it to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, they will consult,” Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv.
According to the president, the exarchs have their vision regarding possible steps to raise the status of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to the patriarchate, but the issue still needs to be considered and discussed.
“They are also in contact with Viktor Yelensky (chief of the government agency on ethnopolicies and freedom of speech – ed.) on this matter and should come back with specific proposals,” Zelensky added.
As a reminder, Ukraine received the Tomos of autocephaly in 2019 after the Unification Council was held in December 2018. Currently, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has the status of a metropolitanate headed by Metropolitan Epifaniy.
Elevation to the patriarchate is possible only under the condition of unification of all Orthodox confessions in Ukraine. Despite the existing formal dialogue between the OCU and UOC (former MP), it is premature to talk about a real unification at the current stage.
In addition, the unification is complicated by the severance of canonical communication of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2018, which was supported by the UOC (MP) as a constituent part of the Russian Orthodox Church. In May 2022, at its Council, the UOC (MP) formally announced a break with the Russian Orthodox Church, but the decision actually confirmed the previous position.
“We, as government, will not interfere or exert pressure,” Zelensky emphasized, commenting on the possible participation of the authorities in the dialogue between churches.
As reported earlier, Patriarch Bartholomew supports Zelensky’s course aimed at Ukraine’s spiritual independence.
On August 28, Zelensky held a meeting with the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, Archbishop Hilarion of Winnipeg, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, Patriarchal Deacon Epiphanius and Bishop Michael, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Ukraine.
Zelensky emphasized the importance of tackling the challenges faced by the Church in Ukraine.
Special attention was paid to the issue of stability and peace in the church domain. “It is very important for us that there really is stability and peace in this area,” Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized. The president recalled that Ukraine is awaiting the visit of His Holiness, and emphasized that it is very important for the country.
