They want to create a “Local Church” of Poroshenko-Bartholomew in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv
The press secretary of the non-canonical UOC-KP Evstratiy Zorya believes that the unification council to create an “autocephalous” church in Ukraine should be held in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“It seems to us the logical and only place... the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. This is a historical temple, the cathedral of Kyiv bishops with a thousand-year history. This seems to be the only logical and appropriate place for such an event. Moreover, the Hagia Sophia is a national museum-reserve that does not belong to any Orthodox jurisdiction. From this point of view, this is also a neutral place for holding such an event,” Zorya said in an interview with the online publication Glavkom.
St. Sophia Cathedral is part of the Sophia of Kiev national reserve and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The cathedral does not belong to any denomination and is state-owned. This cathedral usually only holds a prayer, which brings together representatives of different faiths on Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24.
Zorya also said that only those who turned to the Patriarchate of Constantinople will be able to participate in such a council, that is, most hierarchs of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) will not be able to take part.
“Participation in the meeting will be taken by those who addressed the Ecumenical Patriarch, as well as representatives from the Ecumenical Patriarch,” he said.
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