The Embassy of Ukraine in Nicosia called the decision of the Holy Synod on Wednesday on the issue of commemorating Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv historic.
Cyprus News Agency (KYPE) called the embassy yesterday to comment on the decision of the Holy Synod on the issue.
“Ukrainians were moved when they learned the recognition of the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” the embassy said in a statement.
“This remarkable and unquestionable historical event is very important for the people of Ukraine and the Orthodox world. Of course, it will have a great impact on Ukrainian society.”
The Ukrainian Embassy in Nicosia states that “this decision and its impact goes beyond the boundaries of the churches. In Ukraine, the church is part of the central pillar of society.”
“The recognition of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is an act of unity and support,” it said.
A statement of Metropolitan Epifaniy is also included, stating that the recognition “is the restoration of the ties which, under the reign of Prince Vladimir the Great and Yaroslav the Wise, showed our ancestors the treasures of the spiritual and material culture of the Greek world. These ties continued through schools and academies founded by Prince Konstantin of Ostrog and Metropolitan Peter Mogila.”
“We know that there are significant obstacles to the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine within the family of the Orthodox Churches,” it said.
It adds that “most of these obstacles are artificial because they do not aim at unity but rather at segregation and spread distrust and discord.”
He thanked “all the Orthodox brothers and Archbishop Chrysostom of Cyprus for their support in these difficult times when the nation is being built and difficult challenges are being overcome.”
