Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has stated his commitment to uniting the two Orthodox denominations in Ukraine into a single Church, ensuring they gain recognition from other Orthodox Churches.
He spoke about this in an interview for the program Les Chemins de la Foi (Paths of Faith), which airs on France 2, according to the Facebook page of the Sofia Brotherhood.
Patriarch Bartholomew explained the Ecumenical Patriarchate's authority to grant autocephaly, noting that this practice has been established for a long time. He referred to proposals made during Pan-Orthodox Councils in Rhodes and Geneva, which suggested that the Patriarch of Constantinople would decide to grant autocephaly and sign the Tomos, after which the primates of other Orthodox Churches would jointly agree and sign it. The Moscow Patriarchate opposed this scheme at the time, though it was supported by some other Orthodox Churches.
As a result, this matter was not discussed at the Pan-Orthodox Council in Crete, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate retained its right to make such decisions independently, as it has done in the past.
Patriarch Bartholomew also noted that Ukrainians had previously appealed to the Phanar for autocephaly for their Orthodox Church, both over a hundred years ago and again after Ukraine gained independence. He expressed the view that those seeking recognition of independence in Moscow were mistaken; they should have requested autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate instead.
“Our goal is to unite all the Orthodox Churches of Ukraine, including both Metropolitan Onufriy and Metropolitan Epifaniy, so that they come together on both a theoretical level and in everyday life, forming a single local Church that can be recognized by other Orthodox sister Churches,” said Patriarch Bartholomew.
"I believe that this will happen eventually, though we shouldn't expect it to occur overnight. It is important to remember that the autocephaly of other Churches was also not recognized immediately. Other Orthodox Churches took time to accept the autocephaly of the new Church. I trust that with God's help and the goodwill of the Orthodox sister Churches, this will come to fruition in the coming years or decades.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate has no intention of revoking its decision to grant autocephaly to Ukraine. I want to make this very clear," emphasized the Ecumenical Patriarch.