Parliament of Ukraine votes for an appeal to the Patriarch of Constantinople on autocephaly of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
June 16, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the draft resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine "On the Appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to His Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch on the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine" (registration number 4793), informs the official portal of the Parliament.
245 deputies voted for the adoption of the draft, including Petro Poroshenko Block, Narodnyi Front (People’s Front), Samopomich (Self-help), Batkivschina (Fatherland), the Radical Party and the group "Volia Naroda"(Will of the People). The Opposition block and the group "Vidrodzhennia"(Renaissance) did not vote.
People’s deputy Maria Matios, one of the authors of the bill, said about the doubts of many deputies in legitimacy of the Rada appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. "We have such a right. This is an urgent problem for a large part of Ukrainian society. If there is an independent state, there should be independent spirit and faith," said Matios.
Recall that on 14 June the bill was approved by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Culture and Spirituality.
Read also
FRG priest: Orthodoxy has a great future in Germany
Orthodoxy in Germany is increasingly finding its place in society – not as an alternative, but as a way of life, says Priest Mladen Janić, rector of a Serbian parish in Cologne.
Hurricane-force winds damage UOC church in Vinnytsia
The roof of the Dormition Church in the Vinnytsia Eparchy was damaged by the storm.
Scholars restore 42 pages of Apostle Paul's lost letters
Researchers discovered unique commentaries on Scripture and reconstructed an ancient system of chapter divisions.
Widows of late UOC priests supported in Kyiv
A meeting for the wives of late Kyiv clergy was held on the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women.
Trump says Washington dinner gunman “hates Christians”
The U.S. president said the shooter at the Washington ballroom dinner harbored hatred for Christians and had left behind a “manifesto” targeting officials before the attack.
Holy Spirit Cathedral in Kherson damaged by shelling
The Kherson cathedral sustained major damage: shells destroyed the roof, sparked a fire, and damaged the altar and buildings on the church grounds.