Posted on 11/05/2018 4:38:56 PM PST by marshmallow
ISTANBUL: Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and the Istanbul-based Orthodox patriarch on Saturday (Nov 3) signed an accord that paves the way for the recognition of an independent Ukrainian church, provoking new fury in Moscow.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I had on Oct 11 agreed to recognise the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Moscow Patriarchate, a move that was welcomed with jubilation by Kiev but condemned as "catastrophic" in Moscow.
On a visit to Istanbul that will see him hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Poroshenko signed an agreement setting out the steps needed to formalise the recognition of the independence of the Ukrainian Church, known as Tomos.
"On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I am very grateful to His Holiness and to all the bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchy for the extremely important and wise decision to open the road to God for the Ukrainian nation and its church," Poroshenko said.
"The agreement that we signed today sets the conditions so that the preparation to grant the Tomos will be done in absolute correspondence with the canonical rules of the Orthodox Church."
Poroshenko also tweeted: "Today is a historic day. We have reached an agreement on the cooperation between Ukraine and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which we just signed with His Holiness."
(Excerpt) Read more at channelnewsasia.com ...
Not a Poroshenko fan whatsoever, but ecclesiastically speaking: happy for Christians in Ukraine.
In response: Putin warns of ‘Consequences’ *eyeroll*
https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-warns-of-consequences-over-orthodox-split/29575237.html
“Poroshenko signed an agreement setting out the steps needed to formalise the recognition of the independence of the Ukrainian Church”
Yes, that sounds very independent ...when a political leader lays out the steps needed for him to recognize that you are “independent”.
Thank God for our founding fathers.
“Yes, that sounds very independent ...when a political leader lays out the steps needed for him to recognize that you are “independent”.”
It happens here too. It’s called “the courts”. If a parish in the Episcopal Church wants to leave it, there’s bound to be litigation. The case goes to court.
“Same difference” as it were.
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