Delegation from Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine - Pt. 2

KYIV (RISU) — On October 4, 2009, on the premises of the patriarchate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), the hierarchs of the UAOC met with the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. “We treat the Ecumenical Patriarch with great respect and wait for the day when he opens up his fatherly embrace to our Church,” said the head of the UAOC, Metropolitan Mefodii.

At the same time, the head of the UAOC expressed regret that the leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate is still not prepared to sacrifice its own interests for the sake of the unity of the church and continues to defend the isolationist model of church development.

The patriarchal delegation came to Ukraine on the invitation of Ukraine’s President Yushchenko in order to study the church situation in Ukraine in more detail. The delegation included Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Archimandrite Elpidoforos Lambriniadis, and priest Vasilius Papafanasius. The participants of the meeting discussed the current church situation in Ukraine and the UAOC hierarchs’ vision of ways to overcome the division of the church. The head of the UAOC, Metropolitan Mefodii, stressed once again that at the current stage, the hierarchs of the UAOC view the departure from artificial canonical isolation, in which the church found itself after self-proclamation of autocephaly, as one of the main priorities of its activity.

Representatives of the delegation of the Constantinople Patriarchate noted that they welcome the efforts of the UAOC to overcome of the canonical crises and normalize its canonical status and informed the head of the UAOC about the current status of inter-Orthodox relations, particularly, about the progress of the preparation of the Great Council of the Orthodox Church.

According to the head of the delegation, Metropolitan Emmanuel, in the beginning of December a regular meeting of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople will be held and the report of the delegation will be heard.

The church situation in Ukraine can also be affected by another significant church event to be held in December in the center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Shambezi (Switzerland). In the middle of December, a session of the Inter-Orthodox Committee will be held there, which is responsible for the preparation for the All-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference on matters of granting autocephaly, autonomy, and the procedure of diptychs. According to experts, the consideration of this issue will also promote the final settlement of the Ukrainian church issue.