Phanar: Dialogue with RCC makes us rethink our theological heritage

Exarch of Phanar to Ukraine, Bishop Mikhail (Anischenko). Photo: a screenshot of the Zhyve.tv broadcast

Dialogue with Catholics makes us rethink our theological heritage, said the hierarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Exarch of Phanar to Ukraine, Bishop of Comana Mikhail (Anischenko), at the conference “Catholic-Orthodox Documents and Their Reception in Ukraine” held by representatives of the UGCC and the OCU in Kyiv on October 26.

He stressed that the situation in Ukrainian Christianity, where “several Christian traditions and jurisdictions are powerfully represented at once”, is “a traditional object of attention of the Mother Church of Constantinople” and expressed the hope that Ukraine would join the “extremely important” Orthodox-Catholic dialogue.

“The Orthodox-Catholic dialogue revives the intra-Orthodox theological thought, as it makes us seek answers to acute theological questions and to thoroughly re-examine our own history and theological heritage,” added the representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

On October 26, a conference of the UGCC, the Phanar and OCU on the search for unity was held in Kyiv, during which the head of the UGCC named the goal of the ecumenical dialogue – the restoration of communion, the representative of the Vatican urged to make efforts so that the "successes" of this dialogue received particular practical implementation in Ukraine.

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