Patriarch Bartholomew: creation of Local Church is important aspect in making of new Ukrainian state

The Ecumenical Patriarchate succeeded in restoring the canonicity of the entire multimillion nation that was outside the Church for no valid dogmatic reason. Thank God! Consequently, the decisive factor that made the Ecumenical Patriarchate grant autocephaly to Ukraine is the healing of split and the restoration of ecclesiastical unity. Patriarch Bartholomew voiced this in an interview with the Bulgarian Information Agency BGNES, released by Glavkom.

According to Bartholomew, the creation of a local Church is also an important aspect of the process of creating a new Ukrainian state, “Autocephaly granted to the Ukrainian Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, provides an opportunity for internal self-governance which always supports the development of the local church. At the same time, do not forget about the latest socio-political changes that have created new conditions. In addition to the country's independence and the creation of a new state of Ukraine in 1991. After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the situation has become even more complicated for Russia's presence in Ukraine. Shocking political events, which brought about the new, completely different geopolitical conditions, made the Moscow Patriarchate [in Ukraine, ed.] unwanted and detrimental to the interests of the Ukrainian nation and the unity of the Ukrainian people. For this reason, it is quite clear why the majority of Ukrainians want liberation from the Church which helps or even serves the interests of a state that is in conflict with Ukraine.”