Jemilev: We explained to Erdogan how much Tomos matters to Crimean Tatars
Mustafa Jemilev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Tomos is very important for the Crimean Tatars. This was stated Mustafa Jemilev in an interview with the BBC.
According to him, he talked with Turkish President Erdogan on this topic and consistently explained how important it is for Ukraine and the Crimean Tatars that Ukraine has an independent Local Orthodox Church.
"I explained to Erdogan in the following layman’s terms: now Moscow is said to be the Mecca for Orthodox Christians but after the granting of the Tomos and autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church it will be Istanbul, so it is of political significance to you as well," Jemilev said.
The leader of the Crimean Tatars noted that at first Erdogan was surprised why a Muslim cares about the issue of Orthodoxy.
"I replied this is very important for the independence of our country and therefore, for the Crimean Tatars. He replied, "I understand you." We had very intensive work in this direction. And now I'm watching with such joy and pleasure the Kremlin seething with rage due to the fact Ukraine will get the Tomos," said Jemilev.
Earlier, journalist Dmitry Gordon said that the process of preparing the Tomos on autocephaly for Ukraine is lobbied by Recep Erdogan.
Read also
In Spain, murderer moved to women's prison after claiming to be female
A Spaniard convicted of a series of brutal murders has secured a transfer to a women's prison allegedly based on a change of gender identity.
Georgian Patriarchate warns about fake social media pages
The Georgian Orthodox Church has stated that unknown individuals are using official symbols to create fake social media pages.
Court extends round-the-clock house arrest for Metropolitan Arseniy
The Chechelivsky Court of Dnipro left the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra under house arrest and allowed him to attend medical procedures without separate permission.
OCU shows number of parishioners in seized church of Bezuhlivka
About 15 people with flags stood at the first "service" at St. Michael's Church after the seizure.
In Kyiv, OCU and UGCC сhaplains given an introductory tour of synagogue
Ukraine’s chief rabbi said that clergy of the OCU, UGCC, and RCC familiarized themselves with Jewish tradition at a synagogue.
OCU outraged that Lepliavo parish removed church property before seizure
The Cherkasy Eparchy of the OCU complained that after the fake “transfer” in Lepliavo, UOC faithful left them nothing but bare walls.