Ecumenical Patriarchate's Ukraine Commission Meets with Archbishop of Athens

On 14 May 2018,the Commission on Ukraine of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople called on His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece at the Holy Synod of Greece's offices in Athens.The Commission members attending were two prominent theologians,His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon and His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France;and His Eminence Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna (Izmir,Turkey).For its part,the Holy Synod of Greece,besides Archbishop Ieronymos,were represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Symeon of Nea Smyrni,an expert on Patristics and Byzantine Theology;His Eminence Metropolitan Damaskenos of Didymoteichon and Orestiadis;and His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias and Almyros,member of the Holy Synod's Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian relations. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the Church of Greece about the Ecumenical Patriarchate's evolving involvement in the question of the prospective autocephaly (independence) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Autocephaly has been officially requested by Ukrainian President Petro Porishenko and the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (Parliament),as well as two of the three Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine,the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiyivan Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.It's basically seen as a major step in Ukraine's evolution as a free and independent nation,spritually and culturally as well as politically.The third jurisdiction,the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate,is bitterly critical of the idea,saying,among other things,that it is a political tactic being used by President Poroshenko for the upcoming election.*
In the course of the dialogue in Athens,however,it reportedly emerged that His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople is determined to proceed with granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Archbishop Ieronymos took a neutral position as,given the gravity of the issue,he wants to put it before the whole synod of the Church of Greece at its next assembly in October.*
The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate meets again at the end of May,so a final decision on autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church could come as early as then.