UOC hierarchs in US (Fanar’s affiliate) amazed at Tomos being given so fast

Meeting of Petro Poroshenko with the delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA

Metropolitan Anthony of Hierapolis stressed the primacy of Poroshenko in the process of obtaining the Tomos for the OCU. He said this during the meeting with the head of the Ukrainian state in Kiev, the press service of the president said.

Poroshenko stressed that the decision on granting autocephaly required from Patriarch Bartholomew “great love for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," and "the courage, which many in Russia simply did not expect."

Members of the delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the United States, Metropolitan Anthony of Hierapolis and Archbishop Daniel of Pamphylia were surprised at the speedy process of granting the Tomos to Ukraine.

“We believed but did not expect it to happen so soon. But, thank God, you stood and took the headship in this process since April last year starting from your visit to Constantinople. This is an incredible and most important event in the history of the Ukrainian nation. It seemed it was impossible. You spoke as a magnificent leader of the nation and went down in the history of mankind as a person who gave the Tomos to Ukraine. We have been waiting for such leadership for many years, much more than you,” said Metropolitan Anthony of Hierapolis.

As the UOJ reported, earlier political analyst Yelena Dyachenko said that any violation of the terms of the secret agreement between Poroshenko and Phanar might cause a withdrawal of the Tomos. She also expressed the opinion that the President-initiated Tomos on autocephaly does not give an electoral effect but only splits the society by religious preferences. After all, the OCU, which received the Tomos, is approximately half the size of the largest confession – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

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