Pat. Bartholomew: Phanar doesn’t intend to interfere in affairs of OCU

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: Facebook

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said during a meeting with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky that the Ecumenical Patriarchate would not interfere in the internal affairs of the OCU, the official page of the Patriarchate reported on Facebook.

A personal meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew and Vladimir Zelensky lasted about an hour. The head of the Patriarchate of Constantinople informed the President of Ukraine that his visit to Istanbul “took place after the bestowal of the Tomos of independence to the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine”.

The Patriarch expressed the hope that President Zelensky would protect the Tomos and support “the work that has already started in Ukraine”.

He recalled that it was Constantinople that "gave you Christianization 1031 years ago", and now it has given you "the independence of your Church".

The Patriarch emphasized that the Phanar will provide “the opportunity for your Church to carry out its work independently” and without any outside interference. “Constantinople should not interfere in the affairs of the Church of Ukraine,” he stressed.

The only thing Patriarch Bartholomew drew attention to was that "from here, from Constantinople, from the Phanar, we will defend the OCU and pray for the success of its activities".

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Zelensky did not sign the joint statement prepared by the Phanar.

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