Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew urged the Russian Orthodox Church to accept and recognize the right of Ukrainians to autocephaly.
He stated this at a meeting with Metropolitan Justin of Kalamaria and Nea Krini, DS reports with reference to RIA Novosti.
“Ukraine’s issue caused our confrontation with the brotherly Church of Russia. It is difficult for her to understand that just like the Ecumenical Patriarchate granted freedom to so many peoples in the Balkans -- thereby weakening itself -- and recognized their right to self-governance, church independence, autocephaly, and issued the Tomos to establish the local independent churches, in the same way Moscow should accept that the Ukrainian people -- which it had received in its jurisdiction or more precisely in the administration, in a non-canonical way -- that this almost fifty million people has the right to independence, to autocephaly,” said the Ecumenical Patriarch.
On October 11, Constantinople confirmed the previously made decision that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceeds with granting autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine.