CONSTANTINOPLE – A delegation of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, headed by Archbishop Hilarion of Rivne, recently visited His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
This visit of the Ukrainian Orthodox leader was a pilgrimage made in order to pay respects to Saint Euphemia, who in a miraculous way led the Fathers of the Orthodox Church make correct decisions during the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon. In addition to dogmatic definitions, the Council of Chalcedon also decided that the Archbishop of Constantinople had the responsibility to hear appeals filed either by the clergy or the lay persons from every Church, and established his extraterritorial jurisdiction and responsibility which today is known as ekliton.
At the official audience Archbishop Hilarion of Rivne expressed the gratitude of the Autocephalous Ukrainian Church to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and professed their love to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Archbishop Hilarion said, “we came here to pay our respects to St. Euphemia for her miracle and our filial love for the Ecumenical Patriarch. We believe that the day that the Church celebrates the miracle of St. Euphemia is also a feast for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch warmly welcomed Archbishop Hilarion and the delegation, as well as the Consul General of Ukraine in Constantinople Oleksandr Gaman, who attended the meeting, and said that it was a blessing that the Ecumenical Patriarchate preserved the holy relic of Saint Euphemia.
Speaking about the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine, Patriarch Bartholomew said that “we simply did our duty as the Mother Church of Constantinople, to the Ukrainian People, no more and no less.” He added that “you received what was yours, and we gave you what we had the right and the duty, as the Mother Church of Constantinople, to give you.”
The Patriarch also said that “the new status would have been accepted by all other sister Churches if there were no political expediencies and pressures against this action” and he added that “sooner or later, the recognition of your Autocephalous Church will come, and the first sister Church to do so will be the Church of Greece.” He informed them that the Ecumenical Patriarchate will send an official delegation, led by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, to celebrate the commemoration of Saint Vladimir and the anniversary of Baptism of the Rus on July 28. The delegation will bring a fragment of the relic of St. Andrew.
Then the Patriarch pointed out that the sacred historical ties between Constantinople and Kiev “were strengthened quite recently through the decision of the Holy Synod of our Patriarchate to canonize your great compatriot, Saint Luke of Simferopol.”
Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veria spoke about St. Luke the Physician, Archbishop of Simferopol, his life and miracles attributed to him and the great respect and reverence with which the faithful of his Metropolis have for St. Luke the Physician.
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