Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Livestream Services for the Glorification of the Righteous Olga of Kwethluk
    • Washington state targets priests, confidentiality of confession with discriminatory law
    • Archbishop George of Cyprus Speaks Exclusively to “The National Herald” on the Dethroned Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos
    • ‘The heart of Orthodox monasticism’: Historic monasteries on Mount Athos damaged by earthquakes
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate Issues Statement on Status of Saint Catherine Monastery of Sinai
    • Council of Nicaea anniversary is call to Christian unity, speakers say
    • Call for Nominations: 2025 Medal of Saint Theodora Award
    • Save the Date: October 11, 2025 – Frederica Mathewes-Green to Headline OCL’s 38th Annual Conference
    Orthodox Christian Laity
    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
    • Home
    • OCL
      • About OCL
      • Leadership
      • OCL News
      • OCL Publications
      • Focused Study and Research Topics
      • OCL Archives at DePaul University
    • Orthodox News & Links
      • Orthodox News Stories
      • Headlines & News Archives
      • Governance & Unity
        • Governance Top Stories
        • Governance & Unity Essays
        • Grassroots Unity in Action
      • OCL Forums
      • Orthodox Christian Laity News
      • Web Links
    • Audio & Video
      • Audio Index
      • Video Index
    • Contact
    • Make a Donation
    Orthodox Christian Laity
    You are at:Home»Orthodox News»Inter-Orthodox feud deepens over Ukraine

    Inter-Orthodox feud deepens over Ukraine

    0
    By Webmaster on October 1, 2018 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Telegram WhatsApp Copy Link

    Source: The Tablet

    MOSCOW, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 21, 2018: Patriarch Kirill (front) of Moscow and all Russia welcomes relics of Saint Spyridon of Trimythous from Corfu, Greece, at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

    According to the transcript Patriarch Bartholomew defended his plan to grant autocephaly to a new Ukrainian Orthodox church

    A Greek Orthodox news agency has published the transcript of a three-hour summit between the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, and Patriarch Kirill of Russia over the future of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, showing that the Russian delegation angrily rejected Ukrainian self-rule and insisted the country’s current government was illegitimate.

    According to the transcript, published on 1 October by Orthodosia, Patriarch Bartholomew defended his plan to grant autocephaly, or independence, to a new Ukrainian Orthodox church during the 31 August meeting at his Istanbul see, and rejected Kirill’s warning that Russian-backed separatists would soon overthrow Ukraine’s “illegal government”.

    “Ukrainians do not feel comfortable under Russia’s authority – they want full freedom religiously, just as they have obtained it politically”, the Ecumenical Patriarch, who holds honorary primacy among the world’s 14 main Orthodox churches, told his Russian guests. “So they have turned to their mother church, which judges their claim fairly and will proceed in that direction… Everyone has come to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and begged for the granting of self-rule”.

    However, this was contested by Patriarch Kirill, who said the very “idea of a separate Ukrainian nation” had been “developed in the nineteenth century by uniates”, a pejorative Russian term for Greek Catholics, so they “could expand into the country and cut it off from the Tsar”.

    “The granting of autocephaly for the Ukrainian church is a matter not just for the church of Constantinople, but concerns all Orthodox,” Kirill told Bartholomew, according to the transcript. “These people took power in a coup during the ‘Maidan’ period, and are calling for autocephaly to strengthen their authority because they hold power illegally. The people are poised to overthrow and evict them, so they are seeking support and prestige from the Ecumenical Patriarchate”.

    Calls for an independent church to be formed out of Ukraine’s three rival Orthodox denominations, one of which remains loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate, have intensified since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and bloody intervention in eastern Ukraine, and were backed in 2016 by President Petro Poroshenko, who petitioned Patriarch Bartholomew to grant the necessary “tomos of autocephaly”. Bartholomew named two Orthodox bishops to supervise preparations on 7 September, after failing to reach agreement with Kirill at the Istanbul summit. A week later, Russia’s Orthodox church responded by cutting ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and warning Bartholomew he would forfeit his honorary Orthodox primacy if his “interfering activities” continued.

    In the transcript, Patriarch Kirill insisted Ukraine was “part of the territory of the Russian church”, and said the Ecumenical Patriarch had the right to grant autocephaly only to “local Orthodox churches within its normal jurisdiction”. However, this was dismissed by Bartholomew, who said the strength of Orthodoxy was measured by “holy rules and tradition”, not by claims to numerical superiority and power.

    In a statement last week, the Ukrainian government said the Vatican’s Secretary for Inter-State Relations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, had told its foreign minister, Pavel Klimkin, during talks at the United Nations that the Holy See respected the “decision of the Ukrainian people to create a single local church”. However, this was denied by the Vatican’s Kiev nunciature, which said the Holy See had “no intention whatsoever” of evaluating “an internal question of the Orthodox Church”.

    The head of the Orthodox church in Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostom II, offered on Saturday to mediate in the inter-Orthodox dispute, according to Ukrainian government sources.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp Copy Link
    Previous ArticleEXCLUSIVE: The dialogue between the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Moscow during their meeting at the Phanar
    Next Article Abbot Ephraim of Mt. Athos Speaks with TNH

    Related Posts

    June 17, 20251 Min Read

    Livestream Services for the Glorification of the Righteous Olga of Kwethluk

    June 12, 20255 Mins Read

    ‘The heart of Orthodox monasticism’: Historic monasteries on Mount Athos damaged by earthquakes

    June 10, 20254 Mins Read

    Ecumenical Patriarchate Issues Statement on Status of Saint Catherine Monastery of Sinai

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Register for OCL's Annual Conference - October 11, 2025

    Sign the Declaration for Orthodox Christian Unity

    Enter the Slogan Contest

    Share this page
    DISCLAIMER

    All articles represent the views of the authors and  not necessarily the official views of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL). They are posted to encourage thoughtful discussion on topics and concerns relevant to Orthodox Christians living in a pluralistic society. OCL encourages your comments.

    Stay Informed!

    Subscribe to our Newsletter

    WE WELCOME YOUR INPUT AND SUPPORT!

    Your donation impacts and helps advance the unity of the Orthodox Church of America.

    DONATE NOW

    THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

    Upcoming Events
    There are no upcoming events.
    Recent Comments
    • Angela Skinner on Orthodox Christian Unity in America – Papers in Support (New: See Paper No. 5)
    • Procopius on Leading Liturgists Reaffirm the Ordination of Women to the Diaconate
    • Procopius on How will the Female Diaconate Help Prevent Abuse?
    • John Fronime on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Nn on HAVE WE HIT ROCK BOTTOM? REFLECTIONS OF A NOT-SO-INNOCENT BYSTANDER [witnessing the present decline of the Orthodox Church as an institution]
    • Member on Ex-Clergyman, Sexually Abused at 17 by His Priest, Attempted Suicide
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Luke on Egypt nationalizes ancient monastery’s grounds, fraying ties between Athens and Cairo
    OCL Archives Online
    Project for Orthodox Renewal
    renewal-resize
    OCL Digital Newsletter

    Subscribe to our Newsletter

    MAKE A DONATION

    Sign the Declaration for Orthodox Christian Unity

    St. Symeon the New Theologian and St. Photini are the Patron Saints of OCL

    footer-fnl

    Orthodox Christian Laity
    PO Box 6954

    West Palm Beach, FL · 33405
    561-585-0245

    Sponsored by Ann Souvall in memory of husband George

    DISCLAIMER: All articles represent the views of the authors and  not necessarily the official views of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL). They are posted to encourage thoughtful discussion on topics and concerns relevant to Orthodox Christians living in a pluralistic society. OCL encourages your comments.

    ©2025 Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) ·  Login

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.