The Tomos of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church came back from Istanbul to Ukraine
KIEV, January 10. /TASS/ — the Tomos was signed by all the bishops of the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
A Tomos of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church after signature by all members of the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has returned from Istanbul to Ukraine.
“Yesterday Tomos returned to Constantinople, to signed it, and this morning he returned to Ukraine”, — said the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during a Church service at the Holy protection Cathedral in Rivne, where he arrived with a working trip.
At this point the priests come into the temple, the text of the Tomos. “Here he is, Tomos, who was waiting for generations of Ukrainians”, — said the head of state.
On the eve of the Orthodox Christmas, January 6, the Tomos of autocephaly was formally presented in Kiev the head of the new Church structure to Metropolitan Epiphanius. However, as previously explained by the head of the Department for religions and nationalities of Ministry of culture Andriy yurash, at the time of presenting the document was signed “only the Patriarch of Constantinople, and it must be signed by all the members of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople”. Without these signatures, the decree of autocephaly was invalid. In this regard, Tomos was again sent to Istanbul, where on Wednesday, January 9, was finally signed by all the bishops of the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
To keep the Church Charter will be in the Church archive of St. Sophia.
The current leadership of Ukraine since coming to power in a coup in February 2014 actively promoted the idea of developing a local Orthodox Church that would not be connected with the Moscow Patriarchate. In April last year, Poroshenko personally addressed to the Patriarch of Constantinople to grant the Ukrainian Church autocephaly. In early October, the Ecumenical Patriarchate lifted the anathema from the heads of the two schismatic Ukrainian Church (Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church) and announced that starting the process of granting autocephaly.
December 15 in Kiev, the representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, with the active participation of the Ukrainian authorities was carried out the so-called unification Council, on which representatives of two schismatic Ukrainian Church (Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church) announced the creation of new Church structures in Ukraine and chose her to lead the Metropolitan Epiphanios. Then Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced the date of presentation of the Tomos of the new Church — January 6.
According to the document, the Ecumenical Patriarchate retains its jurisdiction all subordinate churches and monasteries on the territory of Ukraine, all “significant issues” the new Church (the Orthodox Church of Ukraine) should be resolved through Constantinople. In addition, it could not appoint bishops or to create a parish outside of Ukraine, and cannot independently make Miro for worship, unlike the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.