Metropolitan Epiphaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine marked the seventh anniversary of the Unification Council, held on December 15, 2018, at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, which led to the establishment of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The Council overcame long-standing divisions and external isolation by uniting three ecclesiastical branches into one canonically recognized local Church, which received the Tomos of Autocephaly from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Metropolitan Epiphaniy emphasized that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not a new creation, but the continuation of a more than thousand-year-old Christian tradition rooted in the apostolic preaching of Saint Andrew the First-Called, and a blessed fruit of centuries of faith, struggle, and prayer.
Please, read the message published by Metropolitan Epiphaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine
On December 15, 2018, in the historic heart of Kyiv, within the sacred walls of ancient Saint Sophia Cathedral and under the protection of the Mother of God Orans, the Unbreakable Wall, the Unification Council took place. This historic event opened a new chapter in the life of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, marking the establishment of a single, local, autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The Unification Council overcame both the externally imposed artificial isolation of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and its internal divisions. Three previously separated ecclesiastical branches were reunited into one canonically legitimate structure: the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This Church received the Tomos of Autocephaly from His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Thus, today, on the seventh anniversary of the historic Unification Council, we also mark the seventh anniversary of the birth of the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a decision unanimously supported by all delegates of the Council, including the episcopate, clergy, and faithful.
These seven years of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine do not represent something entirely new, but rather the natural continuation of its more than thousand-year history, rooted in the Gospel proclamation on our lands by the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The local Ukrainian Church is a blessed and worthy fruit of centuries of prayer, labor, and struggle. Today, as an established autocephalous local Church, it continues the mission entrusted by its predecessors.
Seven years on, it can be stated with confidence that the Unification Council was a manifestation of God’s Providence, caring for the Church of Ukraine, for our people, and for our state. During this period, the Church has faced and overcome serious challenges and trials and now continues its mission amid the conditions of a full-scale war. Yet the Church stands firmly on its unshakable foundation. It is one of the cornerstones of Ukraine’s independent statehood, a reliable support for the faithful, and a key factor in resisting Russian aggression.
Had this historic unity not taken place, had the Church remained isolated and divided, it would have been far weaker. Thanks to the preservation and strengthening of unity, the Church today has the strength to oppose the occupiers, inspire compatriots in the struggle for freedom and independence, and maintain high moral authority and respect among international partners worldwide.
In unity there is strength. Let us cherish this great gift of spiritual unity and independence, strengthen it, multiply its good fruits, and give thanks to God for all His blessings upon us.
Glory to God for all things.
