Filaret informs Phanar delegates about the need for All-Ukrainian Council
Filaret and the Phanar delegation. Photo: UOC-KP
On August 23, 2024, the head of the UOC-KP, Filaret, met with a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate at his residence. The delegation included Metropolitan Ilarion (Rudnyk) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, Archbishop of Winnipeg, Metropolitan Job (Getcha) of Pisidia, the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Ukraine, Bishop Michael (Anishchenko) of Comana, and Patriarchal Deacon Epiphanios (Kamianovych), according to the cerkva.info website.
The parties discussed a number of pressing issues related to church life, including the situation regarding Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, state-church relations, and dialogue among Orthodox believers in Ukraine.
The head of the UOC-KP shared with the delegates of Patriarch Bartholomew his vision for the unification of Orthodoxy in Ukraine.
"The Lord is creating conditions for us to unite into one Orthodox Church, which will be a strong spiritual foundation for our state. For this, it is necessary, first of all, to pray and place our hope in God, who is the source of all good. Secondly, we must begin dialogue and cultivate love among ourselves. Without love and respect for one another, we cannot achieve anything, for love is the primary and unifying characteristic of Christians. After this, we need to convene an All-Ukrainian Local Council that would unite all three branches of Orthodoxy," Filaret said.
In response, the hierarchs of the Constantinople Patriarchate stated that the "Mother Church is interested in promoting the unity of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and is ready to help overcome the difficulties that arise on this path."
As the UOJ previously reported, representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate concluded that the recent meeting with Dumenko was merely formal, and all his statements were declarative.
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