Metropolitan Emmanuel France spoke about the Ukrainian autocephaly issue at the Saint-Etienne Cathedral in Paris.
Following the Archieratical Concelebration of the Divine Liturgy in which Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Archbishop Yevstratiy of Chernihiv and Nizhyn (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) and Bishops Eirinaios of Rigion and Maximos of Melitini participated, the Metropolitan of France talked a lot about the Ukrainian autocephaly issue.
Metropolitan Emmanuel drew parallels between the case of the Church of Ukraine and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), which has also been in a schism with the Moscow Patriarchate for nearly a century and many of its bishops have not been canonically ordained. “The time has come when the Moscow Patriarchate, without any doubt of the apostolic succession of these bishops, and without any reordination, merely signed the Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007 and restored the full communion with them,” said Metropolitan Emmanuel. He also said that the Church of Ukraine, which had hitherto been called schismatic, had been in a state of crisis for many years, adding that this Church “has always been the canonical territory of the Ecumenical Patriarchate”.
“The Mother Church has the exclusive prerogative to hear appeals,” continued Metropolitan Emmanuel, “which granted autocephaly to Ukraine after all the Bishops and clergy of that Church were first restored.”
