UPDATE - Council On Unification Of Ukrainian Church To Be Attended By All 3 Branches - Poroshenko

Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published October 14, 2018 | 05:30 PM

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2018) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Sunday that the united bishops' council that is set to choose the primate of the single Ukrainian church will be attended by the bishops of all three branches into which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is currently split, including the one linked to the Moscow Patriarchate.

There is currently no single Orthodox Church in Ukraine as it has been split into three major groups: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of Moscow Patriarchate, the non-canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP), which was created in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the so-called Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. On Thursday, the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate announced that it would proceed toward granting independence to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

"This [united bishops'] council will be attended by all bishops from the UOC of Kiev Patriarchate, all bishops from the Autocephalous Church and, I stress it, there will be also a group of bishops from the UOC of Moscow Patriarchate," Poroshenko said in his speech dedicated to the Defender of Ukraine Day.

The president also stressed that there would never be a state church in Ukraine.

"We have never had and, I stress, we will never have a state church. And no one will force anyone to join the Orthodox Church ... either," Poroshenko added.

The Istanbul-based synod also lifted anathema from the heads of the two non-canonical churches that had been excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church for their schism. The Constantinople Patriarchate also revoked its decision to grant Moscow Patriarchate the right to ordain the Metropolitan of Kiev, which dates back to 1686.

The Russian Orthodox Church called the decision of the Constantinople Patriarchate the "legalization of schism," saying that it would have catastrophic consequences and would affect millions of Christians in Ukraine and other countries. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate said that the synod's decision was a hostile act, interfering with the Ukrainian church's affairs.