ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE REJECTS RPTs SUGGESTION FOR ORTHODOX DISCUSSION OF TOMOS FOR UPTs—UPTsKP PRESS SECRETARY
The ecumenical patriarch rejected the initiative of the Moscow patriarch about raising the question of the granting of a tomos to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at a meeting of heads of local churches.
This was described by the press secretary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UPTsKP), Vladyka Evstraty Zorya, in his blog on Twitter, Obosrevatel reports.
"The Moscow patriarch is trying to prevent the granting of a tomos, suggesting to move this question to a discussion of a meeting of the heads of local churches, with the hope of dragging out the matter. The ecumenical patriarch, the Greek church, and the Bulgarian patriarchate have already rejected the initiative of the MP," he wrote.
The vladyka said that a meeting of all heads of local churches on the Ukrainian question must occur in the future. "But with the participation of the primate of a local autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church, after the implementation of the tomos," he summed up.
We recall that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew appointed his own exarchs in Kiev in the person of bishops from the U.S.A. and Canada, for preparation of the granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Immediately after this, the Russian Orthodox Church (RPTs) declared that its relations with Constantinople had hit a dead end and that a "real threat" was hanging over the entire Orthodox world. Meanwhile, the primate of the UPTsKP, Filaret, expressed confidence that a united local church in Ukraine will be created by the end of 2018.
On 23 September, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew declared that Ukraine will receive autocephaly in the near future, because "that is its right." (tr. by PDS, posted 8 October 2018)
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