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The Kyiv Patriarchate and the Autocephalous Church - are continuing efforts to merge, but complete reunification of the Ukrainian church is still a distant goal

tion of the Ukrainian church is still a distant goal.

A third branch of the church, the Moscow Patriarchate, is not involved in the talks. It has declared Kyiv Patriarch Fileret 'anathema,' a move similar to excommunication in which anyone who worships with him is also 'anathematized.'

Leaders of the Kyiv Patriarchate and Autocephalous Church have agreed to work toward unification. The agreement, reached two months ago, calls for an end to the power struggle and bickering that has plagued the churches since 1992, when the Kyiv Patriarchate was formed. Both groups have agreed not to take any canonical actions, such as defrocking or ordination, until the church is unified. Leaders also agreed to allow the Ecumenical Patriarch to arbitrate disputes. The Ecumenical Patriarch is considered to be the leader of Orthodox churches.

At a church conference, or synod, held in Kyiv Jan. 9 and 10, the Kyiv Patriarchate passed resolutions thanking the Ukrainian government for its efforts on behalf of the unification effort, and inviting the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, to visit Ukraine in May 2001. This is the third time Bartholomew I has been invited to visit. Previous invitations have been issued by President Leonid Kuchma and a parliament commission on science and education headed by Ihor Yuhnovsky.

The Kyiv Patriarchate wants the Ecumenical Patriarch to visit during Orthodox Easter, prior to the Pope's planned visit later this year. A decision to accept the invitation has not been announced.

The Kyiv Patriarchate has hopes that Bartholomew I's visit would bring a solution to the split in the church and recognition of a united Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Church members aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate aren't happy.

"The coming of the Ecumenical Patriarch will only aggravate the situation," said Kyril Frolov, press secretary for the Union of Orthodox Citizens.

Frolov said that according to Orthodox canons, an invitation to the Ecumenical Patriarch may only come from the authorized and recognized church leader. In Ukraine these people are Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church or the Metropolitan of Ukraine.

"If Bartholomew I accepts this invitation," Frolov said, "it will be against all the canons and will cause a greater split (in the churches)."

"Even if Bartholomew I recognizes the Kyiv Patriarchate, the decision will not have any canonical force," Frolov said. "Only the church that has anathematized a person can lift that sanction."

Filaret was a Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church before he founded Kyiv Patriarchate. The Moscow Patriarchate declared him anathema, and only it can restore his standing.

Even with unification of the two branches, the Moscow Patriarchate carries a lot of weight. Kyiv Patriarchate and Autocephalous church parishes make up only 31 percent of all Ukrainian Orthodox Church parishes in Ukraine. The remaining parishes are affiliated with Moscow.