“Thank you” of the Church of Ukraine to the Church of Cyprus (Upd)

LAST UPDATE: 11:00

By Kostas Onisenko

The expression of gratitude to the Church of Cyprus and the declaration of the completion of the communion between the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Church of Cyprus was decided yesterday – during its meeting – by the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Church.

According to the minutes of the meeting, after the Synod was informed about the conditions and the results of the recognition of the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine by the Church of Cyprus, decided:

1. To take note of the message, expressing gratitude to the Primate of the Church of Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus, and to the hierarchs of the Church of Cyprus, who followed the canonical decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church.
2. To declare that the communion of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Orthodox Church of Cyprus has been completed, as among the Autocephalous Orthodox Brothers.

The briefing of the Synod, which was held by Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, states, among other things, that on October 30, a telephone conversation took place between the Primates of the Churches of Cyprus and Ukraine.

“The Primate of the Local Orthodox Church of Ukraine on his behalf and the entire Church expressed gratitude for the union of the Church of Cyprus with the Local Churches that followed the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Primate of the Church of Cyprus noted that through a decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – which is certified through the Tomos – all the new autocephalous Churches received their autocephaly. There is no reason to question the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Archbishop Chrysostomos expressed his belief that Local Churches, including the Russian one, must accept that a Tomos has been given to the Ukrainian Church and that it exists in the Diptych of the Autocephalous Churches. In addition, Archbishop Chrysostomos invited Metropolitan Epifaniy to visit the Cypriot Church”.