Major Decision on Ukraine by the Ecumenical Patriarchate Could Be Near

On 22 April 2018,the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a reply to a formal request by President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine that autocephaly (independence) be granted to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.The President's request had been made both in person and by letter,with the approval of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) and two of the three jurisdictions of Orthodox in Ukraine,the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate is not in favour of the initiative.*
President Poroshenko had initially requested autonomy for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 2016.The new request for autocephaly was made in earnest when the President was received by His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew on 9 April 2018.The meeting lasted a lengthy 90 minutes and the seriousness of the agenda was reflected by the number and stature of the Patriarch's advisors who attended the animated and profound discussions:
His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon,eminent theologian;
His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Proussos (Bursa,Turkey);
His Eminence Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna (Izmir,Turkey);
His Eminence Archbishop Job of Telmessos ,eminent theologian;and
the Very Rev.Archimandrite Joachim Billis,Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod.
Addressing the Verkhovna Rada on 19 April,Mr.Poroshenko said:
Having our own Church is an attribute of an independent nation.The state shouldn't interfere in religious affairs;furthermore,a foreign nation (Russia) doesn't have the right to interfere in the religious affairs of Ukraine.*
A letter from President Poroshenko to Patriarch Bartholomew containing the request was hand-delivered by an emissary on 20 April.On 22 April,the Ecumenical Patriarchate replied:
In accordance with the Divine and Sacred Canons,as well as centuries-old ecclesiastical order and Holy Tradition-the Ecumenical Patriarchate concerns itself with the preservation of Pan-Orthodox unity and the care for Orthodox Christians around the world-especially of the Ukrainian Orthodox Nation that has received the salvific Christian faith and holy baptism from Constantinople.Thus,as it is the true Mother Church,it examined matters pertaining to the ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine,as done in previous synodal sessions,and having received from ecclesiastical and civil authorities representing millions of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians-a petition that requests the bestowal of autocephaly,decided to closely communicate and coordinate with its sister Orthodox Churches concerning the matter.*
By way of historical context,the Ecumenical Patriarchate has in recent times granted a tomos (official recognition) of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria in 1998 and the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia in 2014;as well as a tomos of autonomy to the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church in 1996.As well.the Ecumenical Patriarchate received into its jurisdiction groups of Ukrainian Orthodox parishes in both the USA and Canada.These North American metropolises both strongly support autocephaly for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.*
President Poroshenko has requested a decision on autocephaly by 28 July 2018,the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus,so it could come any time now.Some see the fact that the President  has made such a public appeal is a sign that he believes the Ecumenical Patriarchate is leaning his way.*
There are also reports that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been considering establishing metochia (embassy churches) in two Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv and Lviv.