“Two years have passed since the unification assembly that took place in Kyiv when the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was elected and the church’s constitutional charter was approved. Since then, and after the delivery of the Tomos of Autocephaly at the Phanar on the 6th of January, the Most Holy Church of Ukraine bears witness to the Orthodox faith and serves as the local Orthodox Church in the territory of the Ukrainian state, ‘under your strong and philanthropic guidance’.”
This is what the Ecumenical Patriarch said in his congratulatory message sent to Metropolitan Epiphaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine.
The Ecumenical Patriarch congratulates Metropolitan Epiphaniy on the excellent – as he comments – management of church affairs and points out that he serves the people of God with unshakable faith and leads them “towards the dogmatic and canonical tradition of the Church.”
He highlights that the Metropolitan of Kyiv contributed significantly to the recognition of the Autocephaly of the Church by the Archbishop of Athens, the Patriarch of Alexandria and the Archbishop of Cyprus.
The Ecumenical Patriarch is certain that Hierarchs of other churches will also take such a decision in the future. “The Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is a fait accompli and, despite any intervention, cannot be cancelled. Those who insist on rejecting this fact serve other interests. Neither ‘manoeuvres’ nor the theology, which has turned into verbosity, prosper in the blessed world of the Church,” he said.
He also expresses his will to visit Kyiv in 2021 on the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s declaration of independence.
