Pat. Bartholomew to Trump: I granted Tomos to OCU as RF is Ukraine's enemy

Trump at a meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: John Mindala

During a meeting with Trump at the White House, Patriarch Bartholomew informed him about the reasons for the Ecumenical Patriarchate's involvement in the Ukrainian church issue. The Patriarch reported this at a press conference following the meeting with the President of the USA.

"I thanked the President for his interest in the war in Ukraine and explained that our Patriarchate has a special interest in the situation in Ukraine – both political and ecclesiastical," the Patriarch addressed the journalists.

According to him, he mentioned that "we granted autocephaly about six years ago to the Church of Ukraine".

"They repeatedly requested this, we agreed, and it was fair for them to have this ecclesiastical independence from Moscow, which, as we all know, is an enemy of the Ukrainian people," Patriarch Bartholomew conveyed his words to Trump.

"We gave them the opportunity to live independently from the Moscow center, which oppressed them for decades. I remind you of the Holodomor, the genocide orchestrated by Stalin, which led to the death of millions – three to four million Ukrainians. Moscow is an enemy of Ukraine, and this enmity manifested in the war that began in February 2022 and, unfortunately, continues to this day with thousands of casualties on both sides – both Russia and Ukraine. I recently read that the casualties are estimated at a million people," concluded the Patriarch.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that at the White House, Patriarch Bartholomew praised Trump for his peace efforts in Ukraine.

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