President Petro Poroshenko took part in the common prayer and festivities on the occasion of the Day of Christianization of Kyivan Rus’ - Ukraine at St. Volodymyr’s Hill in Kyiv.
The Head of State emphasized that “being a wise and visionary statesman, Prince Volodymyr has realized the powerful potential of Christianity and made a choice in favor of Christianization of Rus’ that laid a firm foundation for the Ukrainian state. And the first bishops and priests came to Rus’ from Constantinople.
“The Church of Constantinople has always been a Mother Church to which we, its offsprings, have turned to seek help - including the issue of overcoming the division, which is a great pain for Orthodox Ukrainians today,” the Head of State noted.
The President emphasized that His All-Holiness Bartholomew had made tremendous efforts to organize the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church despite the attempts of disruption. The Head of State praised successful holding of the Council and adoption of important documents.
Petro Poroshenko reminded that he had an opportunity to meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch and see that His All-Holiness prays for Ukraine and thinks about the way to help solve Ukrainian problems. The President greeted Honourable Representative of His All-Holiness Bartholomew Archbishop Job of Telmessos. “Master, tell His All-Holiness that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church needs urgent attention from the Ecumenical Throne of Constantinople. He is the only one who is able to help Orthodox Ukrainians unit and resolve the issue of canonical status of the Ukrainian Church in the structure of the world Orthodoxy,” the Head of State said.
The President emphasized that according to the opinion polls, a growing number of Orthodox Citizens of Ukraine want to have a single national autocephalous church eucharistically and devotionally united, yet administratively independent from other church jurisdictions. It is a historical trend that Ukraine cannot avoid.
Petro Poroshenko noted that Ukraine would not watch the interference of the foreign state into its religious affairs indifferently. That is why, the Ukrainian Parliament has addressed the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with a request to provide the Tomos of Autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“One must be guided by the ancient canonical principle: civil and land division must be followed by the division of religious affairs,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized. According to him, Kyiv has received the news that the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople establishes a special commission for consideration of the Ukrainian Parliament’s application with great hope.
"I am confident that due to the participation of His All-Holiness in addressing this important issue, the Ukrainian Church and Constantinople will form a unique relationship that will help overcome many negative trends in the modern Orthodoxy," he said.
In his turn, Honourable Representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Archbishop Job of Telmessos conveyed greetings from His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Honourable Representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate noted, that the Church of Constantinople will remain forever the Mother of Kyiv Church, which has been directly subordinated until the end of the XVII century. “Like a mother who always takes care of her children, the Holy and Great Church of Christ, the Ecumenical Patriarchate takes care of the fate of Ukraine and its people, prays against war and violence, acts to restore peace, stands against division and schisms, does not stop working for the revival of unity of the ecclesial body,” Archbishop Job of Telmessos said.
The event has been attended by heads of all Ukrainian churches, government officials, volunteers, ATO soldiers and veterans.
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