Klimkin claims to be the initiator of the Tomos and OCU idea

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Pavel Klimkin. Photo: 5.ua

The former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin said that it was he who prompted Petro Poroshenko to work on the Tomos and the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The politician said this in an interview with “Gordon”.

According to Klimkin, neither the president nor his team wanted to deal with the issue of getting the Tomos. Two people convinced Petro Poroshenko of the need to change the religious picture of the country – the former deputy head of the Presidential Administration Rostislav Pavlenko and the ex-minister himself.

“I have two things that I consider to be an achievement,” Klimkin said. “The first is that we managed to keep the situation in the first three years after the start of the war. The second is the receipt of the Tomos and the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Then only two people convinced Poroshenko to begin this work – Rostislav Pavlenko and I. Neither Poroshenko nor his team wanted this at the beginning. I consider these two things fundamental to the modern history of Ukraine.”

As reported earlier, the former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called on Ukrainian Catholics and Protestants in Canada to "spiritually save Ukraine".

Read also

Vance praises Georgian patriarch's work

The U.S. vice president spoke positively about the role of the primate of the Georgian Church in preserving Christian values in the country.

UOC Social Department donates gaming consoles to children’s hospitals in Kyiv

The UOC Social Department delivered PlayStation 5 sets to seven pediatric hospitals in Kyiv, with a total value of 483,453 hryvnias.

Authorities seize icons and reliquary from Krupytskyi Monastery nuns

After the takeover of the UOC’s Krupytskyi Monastery, officials are preventing the sisters from recovering a reliquary and an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Mukachevo Eparchy priest receives commendations from AFU

Archpriest Vasyl Lomaha was presented with commendations from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the “Berehove Union of Mothers and Wives of ATO Participants.”

Court ruling bars Metropolis of Moldova faithful from entering a church

After a decision by the Supreme Court of Justice, police blocked Orthodox Church of Moldova faithful from accessing the church in the village of Dereneu.

Persecuted UOC community responds to OCU over claims of “discrediting Ukraine”

UOC parishioners say they have the right to appeal to international bodies when their rights are violated.