Historic decision on independence for Ukraine’s Orthodox Church
October 11, 2018. OTTAWA. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) warmly welcomes the historic decision by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognizing the right to independence of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church.
“The decision announced by the Holy Synod has been awaited by millions of Ukrainian faithful for many decades,” stated Paul Grod, National President of the UCC. “This is cause for all Ukrainians around the world to rejoice, no matter their faith, confession, or religious allegiance.”
To view yesterday’s press briefing by Patriarch Filaret of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) please click on image below:
For centuries, the Ukrainian people were forced to live under the yoke of foreign oppressors and saw their language, culture, faith and identity attacked, suppressed and denied. In 1991, exercising their inviolable right to self-determination, the Ukrainian people declared independence – and an indivisible, sovereign, democratic State – Ukraine – was formed.
But the vestiges of hundreds of years of foreign tyranny endured. One such vestige was the dubious claim by Russia of control over the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The Ukrainian people were thus denied the basic right of a sovereign nation for their own faith, traditions and identity. With yesterday’s decision, recognizing the right of independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod has once and for all corrected an historic injustice.
The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, presided by the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness Patriarch Bartholemew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, convened from October 9 to 11, where it decreed “to renew the decision already made that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceed to the granting of Autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine.”
The Synod also canonically reinstated Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate and Metropolitan Makariy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and restored their faithful to communion with the Church.
Once an Extraordinary Assembly (Sobor) creating a unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church is held and a Patriarch of the Church chosen, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will receive a Tomos of Autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The full statement from the Ecumenical Patriarchate
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