The Patriarch Kirill of All Russia and Moscow who came to Istanbul last week met the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on the establishment of an independent Church from Russia in Ukraine. The Patriarch Kirill, talking about the importance of dialogue, “There is a difference between the dialogue of politicians and religious representatives. While the politicians are concerned by the interests of their countries, the churches are concerned by the union of Orthodox Christians. It gives us strength and inspiration for our service, while at the same time assuming certain responsibilities and obligations.”
The Patriarch Kirill said that every subject, including the Ukrainian issue, was treated friendly but he could not explain its content.
At the visit to the Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Balat, Kirill was accompanied by Metropolitan Hilarion and his assistants. According to TürkRus.com website, the Metropolitan Emanuel of France participated in the meeting for about 4 hours.
The application of the Ukrainian Church to the Ukrainian Parliament to become independent of the Church from Russia was legislated last April. The Ukrainian Parliament accepted the letter of application of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which asked help for establishment of an independent church from the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and gave the “national church” autonomy.
President Petro Poroshenko said that he had a private meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I of during his last visit to Istanbul and the approach of the Ecumenical Patriarchs’ and the patriarchate board members’ efforts have never been such decisive and closed to a conclusion before, for establishing a national church in Ukraine.
Before taking these steps, the Patriarchate of Kiev and autocephalic Orthodox Church of Ukraine has been established. However, according to the rules of the Orthodox church, a church establishment must be recognized either by the Ecumenical Patriarchate or by at least half of the other Patriarchs of the Orthodox world.
