Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epifaniy and President Petro Poroshenko greeted Ukrainians with Christmas.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew:
The signing of the Tomos is a special mission. And this is a joy not only for Ukrainians who live in Ukraine but also abroad.
You were born for Christ, but received baptism from Constantinople. I wish that the little Jesus who brought peace to the earth brings peace to Ukraine. May the grace of the newborn Savior bless all Ukrainians in the new year of 2019.
I will always pray for Ukraine, as I did until today.
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epifaniy:
We celebrate not only this great joy of coming to the world of our Savior, who came for the sake of our salvation. We rejoice, rely our hopes on God and believe that in the forthcoming new year of 2019, having received this great gift - the recognition of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we will unite all Ukrainian Orthodoxy around the Kyiv throne.
We believe that next year the long-awaited peace will reign in Ukraine: the war in the east will be completed, we will return the occupied territories, we will return Crimea and everything will be as we want it to be, as the Lord has witnessed by this time, contributing and helping us with this.
President Petro Poroshenko:
This year, Christmas is especially great and especially solemn for us. The holiday is double because the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received the Tomos of autocephaly.
We have finally liberated from Moscow’s captivity our ancient Church, whose history dates back to the time of the Equal of the Apostles Prince Vladimir. And it, equal between equal ones, has entered the family, which now consists of fifteen independent Orthodox churches.
I congratulate you from Fener, the residence of the Ecumenical Patriarch, where celebrations are held on the occasion of granting the Tomos.
Christmas is first of all a family holiday. And this day, we, Ukrainians, traditionally meet with relatives and loved ones. So, like most of you, we rush home to the family kutia.
I congratulate everybody on Christmas. And on the birth of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
"Above the vertep, the star shone with bright light"... And the Ukrainian star shone in the "constellation of independent and equal national churches". This constellation, in the words of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, is the world Orthodoxy.
So, may joyful carols be sung for everyone now…