Fylypovych: Tomos is still an eyesore for the Russian Orthodox Church as it does not have such a document

Speaking about the importance of the Tomos, Doctor of Philosophy, religious scholar Liudmyla Fylypovych said this in an interview with Hromadske.

The Ukrainian Church is among the 15 autocephalous Churches listed in a special list called the diptych.

“This is an absolutely natural process of self-awareness of the Orthodox of Ukraine, who dreamed of this status. They wanted to get out of a 'gray area' of sorts where no one recognized them, no one communicated with them, and where they were not in Eucharistic communion with other churches. Now we see that the Church has actively started its movement in universal Orthodoxy,” says the doctor of philosophy.

According to Liudmyla Fylypovych, the recent visit of Metropolitan Epifaniy to the Pope once again showed that the Church is officially recognized at the highest religious levels. It still will take a while for Ukrainians to realize what happened in 2019, but this is not just a 'gift from above'. A lot of people worked on getting the Tomos. The public sector and the authorities have made efforts to achieve this. Any Orthodox autocephaly is unthinkable without the support of secular authorities. The Ecumenical Patriarchate would hardly exist without Emperor Constantine the Great.

Now, the Church must not just enjoy the Tomos but bear responsibility, the expert believes. “This is a bonus, a certificate for the future. We need to be actively present in Ecumenical Orthodoxy. We must declare that Ukraine has many religious people, and 50% of them are Orthodox. Ukraine should move towards obtaining patriarchal status.

The Tomos is still an eyesore for those who were against us getting such a document and becoming an independent unit among other Orthodox Churches, says Liudmyla Fylypovych. “First of all, we are talking about the Russian Orthodox Church, which does not have such a document. At one time, they self-proclaimed the Patriarchate, and then simply forced the Patriarch of Constantinople to recognize this self-proclaimed Patriarchate.

“The Russians are jealous that Ukraine has chosen the canonical path. After all, we did not put the Patriarch in prison and did not buy his blessing with 'sables and gold'. Ukrainians have suffered for this desire for autocephaly,” notes the doctor of philosophy.

Six years ago, Patriarch Bartholomew signed the Tomos of autocephaly of the OCU.