No one will be forced to visit the church consecrated by the Tomos, and secular authorities will not interfere in church affairs - President
President Petro Poroshenko stressed that there was not, is not and will not be a state church in Ukraine.
"No one will be forced to visit the church consecrated by the Tomos. Once again I emphasize that this is a free choice for every believer. I guarantee that the authorities will respect the choice of those who decide to stay in the church structure, which preserves unity with the Russian Orthodox Church. This is their choice and we must respect it," the President said during a prayer meeting for Ukraine.
At the same time, the Head of State guarantees that the state will protect the rights of those priests and believers of the UOC of Moscow Patriarchate who voluntarily decide to leave Moscow in order to create, together with other Orthodox, a unified Ukrainian Orthodox Autocephalous Church.
"In general, the state has its mission in the religious issue. And this mission has already been fulfilled. We received good news from Constantinople. Now, there are internal questions that the secular authorities cannot intervene in," the President stressed.
The Head of State stressed that the Ecumenical Patriarchate made a decision on autocephaly and Tomos will be handed over to a primate of the church - a worthy, authoritative, experienced leader who will be chosen by the united Bishops' Council. According to him, with the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Mother Church, the Council will convene all bishops of the UOC of Kyiv Patriarchate, the UAOC, as well as several bishops of the UOC of Moscow Patriarchate, "who have chosen the cross between the Kremlin star and the Orthodox cross, have chosen Ukraine between Ukraine and Russia”.
“The responsibility, which will lie on the participants of the unifying council, is historic without exaggeration," Petro Poroshenko said. He recalled that in 988 the Ukrainian state was baptized. Until the middle of the XVII century, before the Moscow’s captivity, Kyiv metropolia enjoyed broad rights in the structure of the Mother Church. “I emphasize that this is not the recovery of autocephaly. The Ukrainian church never had an autocephaly recognized by the Ecumenical Orthodoxy," the President emphasized.
"Just imagine, this is the first time in more than a thousand-year history of our church. Thanks to God, all Orthodox states that have gained their independence set up their own Autocephalous Churches: Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Russia, Romania, Serbia and others. It is very important that Ukraine will now be added to this list," the Head of State said.
The President thanked His All-Holiness Bartholomew for his care for Ukraine. "He made an extremely wise, bold, decisive and responsible decision ... Ukraine is looking forward to his pastoral visit,” the President noted.
