Chairman A.Parubiy meets Exarchs of Ecumenical Patriarchate
05 October 2018, 09:33
"The creation of a unified local church is one of the fundamentals for the future, for the existence of the Ukrainian nation and the Ukrainian people, for ensuring its unity,” -- Andriy Parubiy, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy met with the Exarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton and the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada and Archbishop Daniel of Pamphylia and the Western Eparchy of the UOC in the United States of America.
Greeting the high guests, A.Parubiy emphasized that this visit "is the fatherly response of His All Holiness Patriarch to the two historic appeals expressed by the majority of the Ukrainian parliamentarians about granting Ukraine the Tomos of Autocephaly". According to him, "the Ukrainian people are mobilized more than ever before". "All the Orthodox christians of Ukraine are awaiting for the Ecumenical Patriarch’s decision. And I believe that by the end of this year we will hear the good news out of Constantinople from the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I," said the Chairman of the Parliament.
A.Parubiy also noted that for Ukrainians "this period is simultaneously a very compressed period of big chances and big challenges". It was felt that "in front of these challenges the most important thing is unity of all Ukrainian people". "We are experiencing difficult and very magnificent times for Ukraine. We have to restore historical memory, our traditions, and the Ukrainian parliament does a lot for this, in particular, it has launched a de-communization crusade and adopted an important decision on the Ukrainian language," said A.Parubiy.
The Head of the Parliament officially invited the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to visit Kyiv and speak at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
In turn, the Exarchs clued up that it has remained to take the last steps in the issue of providing the Tomos, and expressed their support for further cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton and the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada emphasized: "I think his Holiness will visit Ukraine and will be present at the Verkhovna Rada that has made this historic decision". He then conveyed personal congratulations from the Ecumenical Patriarch.