Ukraine can’t avoid local Church, – Groysman

Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Groysman called the creation of a single local church in Ukraine an inevitable process, reports Zerkalo Nedeli (Mirror of the Week).

"As for the meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, we really discussed a number of issues, – said Groysman to journalists at a press conference. – I believe this process is irreversible, and I would really like this process to culminate in the unification of Ukraine. This is extremely important and fundamental for our country".

In March, Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman met with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul. And in June 2016, the Verkhovna Rada appealed to the patriarch with a request to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The Rada asked to declare invalid the tomos of 1686 on the re-subordination of the Kiev Metropolitan to Moscow, because it was adopted in violation of the sacred canons of the Orthodox Church.