Social media recall Metropolitan of Kyiv’s letter 2008 to Phanar

His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan) of Kyiv and All Ukraine. Photo: pravlife.org

The head of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs of the UOC, rector of the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. Jonah, Archbishop Jonah (Cherepanov) of Obukhiv, recalled the letter from His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan) to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople dated 2008. The hierarch of the UOC believes that this letter is a genuine and still actual testament of the late Metropolitan Vladimir.

“Unfortunately, now many people make the deceased (Metropolitan Vladimir – Ed.) almost the main proponent of autocephaly,” the archbishop wrote on his Facebook page.

In his address to Phanar, Metropolitan Vlaidimir wrote that the scenario discussed at that time for solving the Ukrainian church issue by creating several parallel Orthodox jurisdictions is unacceptable as:

• contradicts the canonical principle “one city – one bishop”;
• will strengthen ethnophyletic sentiments in church communities;
• will exacerbate the negative trends leading to the polarization of Ukrainian society;
• can lead to renewed tough confrontation in the struggle for churches and church property.

As reported, Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos believes that the bestowal of the Tomos to the OCU did not reach the main goal – the achievement of church peace in Ukraine.

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