Petro Poroshenko held a meeting with the heads of the UOC-KP and UAOC, unrecognized in the Orthodox world, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
At the meeting, Poroshenko accepted appeals for transmission to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on granting the Ukrainian Church a tomos of autocephaly, Poroshenko’s press service reports.
It is noted that the head of the UOC-KP Filaret officially handed over to Poroshenko an appeal to grant the Ukrainian Church autocephaly, signed by all the bishops of the UOC-KP.
“I think for many years millions of Ukrainians dreamed that the Lord would send us our united Orthodox local church. Some lost hope, some continued to believe. And God’s help now gives me reason to assert that we are closer to receiving a tomos for an autocephalous local church than ever before,” Poroshenko said.
In turn, Filaret said that “recognition of the Ukrainian church will be a great impetus for the unification of the entire Ukrainian society.”
Poroshenko also held a meeting with the leadership of another church structure unrecognized in the Orthodox world - the UAOC and officially accepted from its leader, Metropolitan Macarius, an appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to grant the Ukrainian Church a tomos of autocephaly with the signatures of all bishops of the UAOC.