Patriarchate of Alexandria officially recognizes OCU

Pope and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa. Photo: pravlife.org

On November 8, 2019, the Patriarchate of Alexandria recognized the OCU, the spokesperson for the new church structure Eustratiy Zoria announced on his Facebook page.

Zoria published a photocopy of the official communique of the Main Secretariat of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, in which the Patriarchate of Alexandria notified of "the recognition of the Patriarchal and Synodal Tomos of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church and inclusion of the name of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany of Kiev and All Ukraine, in the Diptych for commemoration” .

After the service, at which the name of Epiphany was read out among the Primates of the Local Churches, Patriarch Theodore gave a commentary in which he called it “an important event in the Church”: “From today, our patriarchate added to the diptych ‘the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine’ and His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany. From now on, His Beatitude Epiphany will be commemorated in the churches of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.”

The UOJ publishes the full translation of the official communiqué:

In recent months, we have seen the disposition/desire of the fraternal Holy Hierarchs to recognize the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church, granted by the Synodal tomos of the All-Holy Ecumenical Patriarch.

As all know, our Holy, Catholic Orthodox Church functions through a conciliar system of governance, as received by tradition from the holy Ecumenical Councils. In this regard, the presidents of the Local Church Synods are among their members.

In this regard, we, as a member of and executor of the disposition/desire of the fraternal Holy Hierarchs, commemorated in the diptychs of the Catholic Orthodox Church the primate of the autocephalous Church of Kiev and All Ukraine His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany, fervently praying for peace and the prosperity of our Orthodox Churches.

Alexandria, November 8, 2019.

From the General Secretariat of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria commemorated the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko at the Liturgy.

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