Several sources confirm Pat. Kirill visiting Constantinople

(RISU) - The office of the Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate reported that the meeting of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow would be held at the request of the latter.

On August 31, Moscow Patriarch Kirill will meet in Istanbul with Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew, the office of the Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate reported on Facebook, according to Gordon edition.

The meeting will be held at the request of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. During the visit, Patriarch Kirill will discuss with Patriarch Bartholomew and “the competent bodies of the Mother Church the issues of mutual interest.”

Greek religious media outlet Vima Orthodoxias reports that the Patriarchs will discuss the issue of providing autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church.

In April 2018, the Ukrainian parliament turned to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with a request to bestow the Tomos – a decree of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church urged the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to support efforts to establish a unified Ukrainian Church.

The deputy head of the Department of External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate Mykola Danylevych replied that the initiative would end in a “big nothing”.

On April 22, President Petro Poroshenko said that the Ecumenical Patriarchate began to consider the request of Ukraine.

According to Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zoria), the spokesman of the UOC-KP, the issue of granting the Tomos may already be considered in September.