Poroshenko: I pray that OCU to continue uniting Ukraine with love and prayer

Published Jan. 5, 2019. Updated Jan. 5 at 3:40 pm

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (R) together with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (L) and Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church (R), arrive for a ceremony for the signing of the "Tomos" decree of autocephaly, recognising the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, at the Patriarchal Church of St George in Istanbul on Jan. 5, 2019.

Photo by AFP

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) will continue uniting the country, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

“I beg you and pray that the Church will continue uniting Ukraine with love and prayer,” Poroshenko said on Jan. 5 in Istanbul after the ceremony of signing of the tomos on the autocephaly of the OCU by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

He recalled that in Ukraine, an independent church had been waiting for centuries.

“Among the 15 stars, among the 15 Orthodox churches, a Ukrainian star has appeared. In St. George’s Cathedral we heard a prayer in the Ukrainian language. It was a long way for us to this,” Poroshenko said.

The president called the signing of the tomos on the autocephaly a historical event and expressed the hope that this day will go down in history forever.