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Ucraina Meeting of Metropolitan Emmanuel with Ukrainian President (a cura Redazione "Il sismografo")

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Dettagli: Creato: 27 Luglio 2018; Hits: 1420

(Peter Anderson) This is a very short report with a fuller report to come tomorrow. Metropolitan Emmanuel of France (Ecumenical Patriarchate) met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko this afternoon. The Metropolitan presented to

the President a letter from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Here are some of the remarks of the Metropolitan from the President’s website:

Representative of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Metropolitan of France Emmanuel emphasized that the address of His All Holiness, conveyed today to the Ukrainian President, demonstrated the continued support of Kyiv on behalf of the Mother Church of Constantinople. “It shows that we are proud to be here now at the celebration of this anniversary. It takes place at a very important moment,” he said, adding that after the visit of the Ukrainian President to the Ecumenical Patriarchate on April 9 and the decision of the Holy Synod of April 20, the way to a new era had been paved.

“This is a historic moment for Ukraine, because it opened the procedure for granting the autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church. Kyiv has always been under the protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We have all the historical documents that prove it. The Mother Church has never stopped taking care, as stated in the address of His All Holiness, and the care of the Mother Church is noticeable," Metropolitan of France Emmanuel noted.

The Representative of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch assured that the delegations of the Ecumenical Patriarchate had been officially informing other autocephalous orthodox churches of the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and urged them to come together in that procedure. “This is the first part of the implementation, which has already been started, and we openly receive anyone who visits His All Holiness to discuss the next step,” he added. "We are very grateful for your efforts in uniting the churches of Ukraine, because we need Ukraine to have united churches and all our efforts are directed towards this. Be sure of that, Mr. President. We also pray for your mission, God and the Mother of God protect you and your Government and give blessings to the Ukrainian people," Metropolitan of France Emmanuel noted.

The President’s website stated the following concerning the Ecumenical Patriarch’s letter:

Representative of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Metropolitan of France Emmanuel emphasized that the delegation of the Patriarchate is here in Ukraine on behalf of His All Holiness. “It is with great pleasure that I convey to you the address of His All Holiness,” he said.

Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton and the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada read the address of Patriarch Bartholomew who noted the importance of the baptism St. Vladimir from the First Holy See Church of Constantinople in the metropolis of Chersonesos. “The newly baptized nation came under the spiritual guidance, unrestrained care and church cover of the Church of Constantinople through the creation of the metropolis of Kyiv and All Rus’, which became the sixtieth metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” the address reads.

In the address of the Ecumenical Patriarch it was emphasized: "Recognizing the high responsibility of the First Holy See Church of Constantinople, which never ceased and did not reconcile to illegal and non-canonical situations that shocked the natural functioning of the Orthodox Church, during these crucial times, it took the initiative to restore the unity of the Orthodox believers of Ukraine with the ultimate goal of granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian church.”

From the above, it seems fairly clear that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has taken no steps with respect to Ukraine aside from its April 20 decision to discuss the matter with the other Local Orthodox Churches. Very significantly, the Metropolitan states that “we openly receive anyone who visits His All Holiness to discuss the next step.” If a decision has not been made as to what the next step should be, it seems extremely unlikely that the Ecumenical Patriarchate will grant autocephaly to Ukraine in the near future. On the other hand, it appears clear that the “ultimate goal” of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is to grant autocephaly. Also it appears clear that the Ecumenical Patriarchate believes that it has retained jurisdiction over Ukraine.

Peter Anderson, Seattle USA