Poroshenko supported an address to Patriarch Bartholomew on granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church without specifying which exactly patriarchate this church would belong to. He told about it during an annual message for the MPs, according to Depo.ua.

President Petro Poroshenko thanked the Parliamentarians for the address of the Verkhovna Rada to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church and emphasized that such step is highly important, since an opinion of the secular power is normally relevant to the matter.

"We hope, His Eminence will be able to hear our message. Even more citizens wish to have a single autocephalous local church,” declared the President.

He noted he does not mean having a “pocket state church”. “Freedom of conscience will by no means be restricted for whoever it may concern. Each Ukrainian has the right to believe in God in his own way and attend his own church,” Poroshenko remarked.

It will be reminded that earlier representative of Constantinople Patriarchate Archbishop Job of Telmessos made it clear that according to canonic principles, “there can be only One Church on one territory. Thus, it is impossible to have two autocephalous churches on one territory. One should have church unity to proclaim autocephaly.”