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.

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