Phanar rep says the name of the future church structure in Ukraine

Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Job (Getcha)

The representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the World Council of Churches, Archbishop of Job (Getcha) of Telmessos said in an interview with the BBC News Russian Service that the new church structure in Ukraine would be named “The Orthodox Church in Ukraine”.

“Not the “Ukrainian Orthodox Church” because the Church is one,” said Archbishop Job. “It belongs to Christ, not to any nation or state.”

Archbishop Job explained that the Slavic names — Bulgarian, Serbian, or Russian Orthodox Church — are used incorrectly and indicate ethnophyletism, that is religious nationalism.

“All Orthodox believers who are on the territory of Ukraine will belong to ‘The Orthodox Church in Ukraine’,” the hierarch stressed, adding that at the moment we are talking about the autocophaly of the Kiev Metropolis and whether it will be upgraded to the level of the patriarchy - “this is a different question".

Also, the Phanar representative said that the unification Council in Ukraine will be convened by Patriarch Bartholomew, and he will do it when he “thinks that the time has come”.

Earlier, Petro Poroshenko said that after the creation of the Single Local Church, the UOC would be named the “Russian Orthodox Church.”

According to Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary, demanding that the UOC be renamed, the schismatics are trying to turn the canonical Church into an alien one for their people.

Read also