Church hierarchs spoke about finding ways of understanding between Ukrainian Orthodox Christians and dialogue to achieve unity in church matters.
During a visit to Kyiv, the delegation of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with the head of the UOC-MP, Metropolitan Onuphry. This is the first official and direct contact between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the UOC-MP since the communication was broken in 2018. BBC Ukraine reported this on Saturday, August 24, citing an interlocutor close to the Ecumenical Patriarch and a source at UOC-MP.
An interlocutor close to the Ecumenical Patriarch told reporters that the negotiations took place in a good atmosphere and showed readiness for dialogue on the part of the UOC-MP.
As reported by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the main focus during the visit was to find ways of understanding between Orthodox Christians of Ukraine and dialogue to achieve unity on the issue of the church, the article notes.
“There is a readiness for dialogue. The main thing is not to spoil it and show your good intentions,” an interlocutor at the Ecumenical Patriarchate assured the publication.
It was noted that the Ecumenical Patriarch’s delegation included Archbishop Hilarion of Winnipeg, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia and Patriarchal Deacon Epifaniy Kamenovich, all of whom are Ukrainians by origin.
This delegation met with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, the head of the UGCC, Svyatoslav, and the former Patriarch of the UOC-KP, Metropolitan Philaret. In addition, the delegation is scheduled to meet with the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky.
“The meeting with the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate took place for the first time in six years in a very fraternal atmosphere,” the source assured journalists.
At the same time, it said that it is too early to talk about “the results of this meeting,” adding that “some figures really want no results,” indicating that in Ukraine there are many opponents of fruitful negotiations on understanding between Orthodox Christians.
The interlocutor of the Ukrainian Air Force also told the Ecumenical Patriarchate that Metropolitan Onuphry himself wanted to meet at the beginning of summer and then gave Patriarch Bartholomew a gift through Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in the USA.
The journalists reminded that, following the Russian Orthodox Church, in 2018, the UOC-MP broke relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate due to Patriarch Bartholomew’s provision of tomos on autocephaly for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Let’s recall that on August 20, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill banning the activities of religious organizations associated with Russia in Ukraine. And on August 24, President Zelensky signed this law. After the law takes effect, Ukrainian churches suspected of collaborating with the Russian Orthodox Church will have 9 months to sever ties.
Spiritual independence: what will change the law banning UOC-MP
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.