Letter from Phanar head to OCU leader published online

Patriarch Bartholomew and Epifaniy Dumenko. Photo: static.nv.ua

A year ago, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew sent an official delegation to Ukraine. A letter dated June 27, 2023, in which the head of the Phanar informed the OCU leader, Epifaniy, about this, was published by a resource that supports the interests of the OCU.

Mentioning the "visible and invisible war", the head of the Phanar assures Dumenko that, solely to help him "carry this cross", he decided to send his representatives, among whom he names two synodal hierarchs of Ukrainian origin: Archbishop Hilarion of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of Ukrainian Churches in Canada under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, who cares for the Ukrainian flock, as well as Deacon Epifanios Kamianovych.

"...So that they may be near you, dear holy brother and Primate of the Most Holy Church of Ukraine, to express the boundless support of the Mother Church of Constantinople, to report on the progress of your ecclesiastical affairs, as well as to express our good feelings and relations through advice, cooperation and assistance to the beloved church community of your God-protected state," the letter says.

Bartholomew assures Epifaniy that he instructed his envoys "to address your affairs only in full cooperation and after consultation with you".

"For the sake of peace and to assist in carrying your cross, and not for illegal and inappropriate interference in your internal affairs, we are sending them," he continues.

The head of the Phanar then expresses hope for "respect in word and deed" from the OCU for what "the Mother Church of Constantinople is doing for its well-being". He then adds this phrase: "that it desires to be holy in all that we have entrusted to it and what it has learnt from us."

We publish the full text of the letter in translation:

“Your Beatitude, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, our beloved brother and concelebrant in Christ, His Eminence Epifaniy, embracing Your Beatitude in the Lord in brotherly love, we sincerely greet you!

Everyone knows the maternal care and boundless love that the Holy Church of Constantinople has for all the Churches, and especially for the Church in Ukraine, which it separated from itself, gave birth to and for which it has a special responsibility, and which daily bears the historic cross of martyrdom in the midst of a war, visible and invisible.

Thus, we, from the sacred and pure center of our faith, desiring to assist you in carrying this cross, have decided to send you our delegation, which includes two synodal hierarchs of Ukrainian origin—His Eminence Hilarion, Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of Ukrainian Churches in Canada under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and His Eminence Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, who also cares for the Ukrainian flock, as well as one of our deacons, His Grace Epifanios Kamianovych to be with you, the revered holy brother and Primate of the Holy Church of Ukraine, to express the immeasurable support of the Mother Church of Constantinople, to inform you of the progress of your church affairs, and to express our good feelings and attitudes through advice, cooperation and assistance to the beloved church community of your God-protected country.

It is clear that this fraternal and supportive visit of the representatives of the Phanar, which love you so much, is directed primarily to Your Beatitude, which is why we have instructed our brothers to touch upon your affairs only in full cooperation and after consultation with you. For the sake of peace and to assist in carrying your cross, not for unlawful and inappropriate interference in your internal affairs, we are sending them, hoping that the Most Holy Church of Ukraine respects in word and deed what the Mother Church of Constantinople does for its well-being, growth in Christ, and development, and that it desires to be holy in all that we have entrusted to it and taught it, for it is the one that the Church of Constantinople "loves very much".

So, Your Beatitude Holy brother, receive those who come to you on our behalf with greetings of peace, great respect, and love from the Bosphorus. Wishing that your cooperation with them bears fruitful results, we invoke upon Your revered Beatitude and upon the entire Ukrainian people, to whom we extend paternal love and who suffer from an unjust and terrible war, and upon your spiritual flock, the grace and comfort of the Spirit, Who always calls all to unity.”

As previously reported by the UOJ, a year ago, Dumenko urged Bartholomew not to send a delegation to Ukraine. UOJ sources report that the head of the Phanar decided to send the delegation to Ukraine after the number of violent church seizures exceeded all reasonable limits.

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