Casting an eye: Filaret declares Lavra will be given to “Ukrainian” Church

Filaret (Denisenko) in Brussels at the event in the European Parliament

On May 2, 2018, it was declared by the leader of the Kyiv Patriarchate Filaret (Denisenko). His speech took place within the event on the topic “Ukraine in the times of independence: Orthodox Kyiv Patriarchate and challenges of the changing society”, reports NGO Public Advocacy.

This event was organized by representatives of the parliamentary faction EPP. During the event, the head of the UOC-KP said that his religious confession asked the Patriarchate of Constantinople to be granted with the Tomos of autocephaly.

According to Filaret, after receiving Tomos, there will be one church in Ukraine, and the canonical UOC will be called an exarchate. He also stressed that the main Orthodox shrine of the country – the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra – will belong to the newly formed Church.

Previously, Petro Poroshenko stated that the creation of the Single Local Church was the cornerstone of his election campaign, and the adopted Petition to Patriarch Bartholomew on SLC means “autocephaly for the state”.

Exarchate – (from Greek έξαρχος, “head, chief”) – is the name for the church structure which is directly subordinated to the religious center based in another state.

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