President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko came to Turkey in order to sign an agreement of collaboration and harmony with the Ecumenical Patriarchate who approves the request of the Ukrainian Church to leave the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I signed an agreement which means the confirmation of the separation process of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
After signing the agreement, Poroshenko said:
“We have completed the process of granting the Ukrainian Church autocephaly (independence) inaccordance with the rules of the Orthodox Church”
The Ecumenical Patriarchate said “We believe that the decision of granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian church will serve to the establishment of unity among all the Orthodox faithful in Ukraine.
Poroshenko described Friday in which the union agreement was signed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as a historic day and said:
“The independence was the dream of the Ukrainian nation for 1030 years. The Ukrainian Orthodox prayed for years for this dream. Me and the Parliament have worked hard for independence. We therefore express our gratitude for the approval of the decision. The agreement which is signed today will help us a lot.”
Metropolitan of Paris, Emmanuel; Archbishop of Pamphilon, Daniel; and Bishop of Edmonton, Hilarion also attended to the private meeting.
