Patriarch Filaret: Contacts with Ecumenical Patriarch Have Become More Complicated

During his patriarchal visit to the Bukovyna region on May 17, 2012, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate Patriarch Filaret met with journalists.

In answer to our RISU correspondent’s question about the current status of the relations between the UOC-KP and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Patriarch Filaret said: “The contacts between the Kyivan and Constantinople Patriarchates have not been terminated. But they are more complicated now not due to the position of the Kyivan Patriarchate, but because of the relations between Moscow and Constantinople. The Constantinople Patriarchate would like the Ukrainian Church to be autocephalous. It is its position. But Ukrainian Orthodoxy must be united first. The lack of a unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church is an obstacle in the way of recognition by Constantinople of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church. That is first we need to unite and then that church will be recognized by Constantinople.

“And Moscow does everything to prevent Ukrainian Orthodoxy from unification so that we should not be recognized. Therefore, the process goes on. And we maintain contacts with Constantinople and not only with it. We also are in contact with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Romanian, Greek, Georgian, Montenegrin Churches. And they are telling us to be patient and that we will be recognized as an autocephalous Orthodox Church."