Patriarch Bartholomew explains the duty of Phanar towards Ukraine

Patriarch Bartholomew at St. George’s Cathedral in Istanbul on June 11

The existence of schism is not an argument to leave an entire people beyond the ecclesiastical truth. He stated this on June 11 at St. George's Cathedral in Istanbul.

"The existence of schism is an argument not in favor of leaving with a clear conscience an entire nation beyond the limits of ecclesiastical truth and canonicity, denying our responsibility to God and history, but rather an incentive for finding salutary decisions which unite," he stressed.

According to him, "when the Mother Church examines the ways of salvation for our brothers from Ukraine and Skopje, it fulfills the apostolic duty. Our duty and responsibility is to bring peoples back to the truth and canonicity of the Church. Therefore, what the Ecumenical Patriarchate has, it has for the benefit of the whole world and offers it to all nations without exception. In the same framework, the Inter-Christian dialogue is established, which performs its work "in love and truth".

Earlier, the Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC, Protopriest Nikolai Danilevich explained that the arrival of Constantinople in Ukraine would conserve the schism for centuries, and parallel jurisdiction means the end of the dreams for a single Church.

In mid-April, Poroshenko turned to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with a request to provide the Tomos on autocephaly of the Church in Ukraine and announced the creation of the Single Local Church. The Verkhovna Rada supported the appeal of the President. The Kiev Patriarchate has already stated that they see their leader Filaret, anathemized by the canonical Church, as the head of the SLC.

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