Patriarch of Constantinople Archives

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Latest news Ukraine

Zelenskyy seeks promotion of national Orthodox Church from metropolitanate to patriarchate

President Zelenskyy says he advocated for elevating the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to patriarchate status during a recent meeting with Constantinople exarchs, while stressing state non-interference in church affairs.

byYuri Zoria

This political cartoon by an anonymous Russian artist accurately represents Russia of Putin's rule. It is a post-communist "prison of nations" which replaced the cult of the Party with the cult of Putin and uses the Russian Orthodox church as a major propaganda and manipulation tool and a convenient cover for Russian spy services abroad.

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Moscow worried about possible moves to Orthodox autocephaly in Belarus and Moldova

Religious affairs specialist Milena Faustova says that “the closer the August 24 date of the visit of Bartholomew…

byPaul A. Goble

Universal Patriarch Bartholomew signing the tomos of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on January 5, 2019. Metropolitan Epiphanius of Ukraine stands behind him. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

2 minute read

Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Orthodox Church of Ukraine are now legal synonyms

Yesterday, the Ukrainian justice ministry officially registered the religious organization, “the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church…

byPaul A. Goble

5 minute read

Ukrainian autocephaly a defeat for Putin but a victory for a future Free Russia, Illarionov says

Many commentators have suggested that the grant of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is a great…

byPaul A. Goble

The tomos of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on display at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. January 7, 2019. The cathedral was founded in 1011, under the reign King Volodymyr the Great, who ruled Kyivan Rus from 980 to 1015. (Photo: pomisna.info)

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Now-independent Ukrainian Orthodox church set to be major player internationally, Illarionov says

Russian commentator Andrey Illarionov has carefully compared the status of Ukrainian Orthodoxy in terms of 25 basic issues…

byPaul A. Goble

3 minute read

Ukrainian Orthodox Church head says Russian Orthodox Church will remain in Ukraine as many want it and he’s not against that

To hear Moscow propagandists talk, you would think that the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in combination…

byPaul A. Goble

L-R: Metropolitan Epiphany and Archbishop Svyatoslav

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Are the Uniates about to make common cause with newly autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox?

With the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) receiving the tomos of autocephaly from the Universal Patriarch Bartholomew, the…

byPaul A. Goble

Fragment of Russian icon "Moscow - The Third Rome"

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Ukrainian autocephaly destroys ideological foundation of Russian empire, Espresso says

Many are saying Ukraine’s receipt of autocephaly from the Universal Patriarch is for Russia an act equivalent to…

byPaul A. Goble

A monument to Volodymyr The Great, the king of Kyivan Rus from 980 to 1015 who baptized it in 988 and became a Christian saint, stands above the Dnieper River in Kyiv. (Photo: social media)

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‘A church without Putin, without Kirill, and without prayers for the aggressor’

The unification council of the Ukrainian Orthodox has ended with the election of a new metropolitan and promises…

byPaul A. Goble

15 minute read

Ukraine

History in the making: future Ukrainian Orthodox Church elects its Primate

On 15 December 2018, the Unification Council which brought together delegates from the three Orthodox churches in Ukraine…

byAlya Shandra

Ukrainian flags on the square in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The cathedral was founded in 1011, under the reign of King Volodymyr the Great, who ruled Kyivan Rus from 980 to 1015.

4 minute read

Draft tomos gives Ukrainian Church less autonomy than it hopes to obtain

Ukrainian media have obtained a copy of a draft tomos that the Universal Patriarchate has prepared for delivery…

byPaul A. Goble

4 minute read

Moscow laying groundwork for alternative patriarchate in Muslim Turkey

The Moscow Patriarchate is taking its battle against the Universal Patriarchate over Ukrainian autocephaly to a new level:…

byPaul A. Goble

Archbishop Job of Telmessos, Permanent Representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the World Council of Churches (Photo: bbc.com)

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Constantinople: Moscow could be stripped of autocephaly, while Belarus could gain it

If Moscow continues to interfere with the march of Ukraine’s Orthodox to autocephaly, it could lose not only…

byPaul A. Goble

The Bessarabian Orthodox Church of Saint Theodora de la Sihla in Chişinău, Moldova built in 1895 by architect Al Bernardazzi (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

4 minute read

Fight over subordination of Orthodox hierarchies spreads to Moldova

Despite the fact that Ukraine’s Orthodox church is about to be granted autocephaly and ever more people in…

byPaul A. Goble

Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Cathedral of Transfiguration in Tallinn (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

7 minute read

Does Estonia’s history with two Orthodox churches have lessons for Ukraine?

Constantinople’s gift of autocephaly to Ukraine’s Orthodox church could have a very different outcome than the violent clashes…

byPaul A. Goble

7 minute read

Constantinople decision on Ukrainian Church truly has global consequences

Although the Universal Patriarch in Constantinople has not yet given the tomos of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox…

byPaul A. Goble

Service at a Ukrainian Orthodox church of the Kyiv Patriarchate in Crimea (Photo: krymr.org -- RFE/RL)

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38 of the 46 Ukrainian Orthodox churches in Crimea forced to close by Russian occupiers

Archbishop Klyment of Simferopol and Crimea says that once autocephaly is granted to Ukraine, the Russian occupation forces…

byPaul A. Goble

Archbishop Sviatoslau Lohin, Primate of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (Image: belapc.org)

4 minute read

The next domino – Belarusian Orthodox hope for autocephaly

Archbishop Sviatoslau Lohin, head of the émigré Belarusian Autocephalous Church, says that his denomination supports autocephaly for Ukrainian…

byPaul A. Goble

6 minute read

Moscow having failed to block Ukrainian autocephaly now attempting to exploit it

The Kremlin and the Moscow Patriarchate remain totally opposed to autocephaly for the Ukrainian church, but in recognition…

byPaul A. Goble

5 minute read

Constantinople could grant autocephaly to Belarusian Orthodox Church next, Gorbik says

Ukrainian Archpriest Sergey Gorbik says that Constantinople could grant autocephaly to the Belarusian Orthodox Church in the near…

byPaul A. Goble