On 5 January 2018,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,who is 78,signed into effect the Tomos of Autocephaly for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine at a ceremony in Constantinople.Attending the event in the Patriarchal Church of St.George in the Phanar,the Patriarchate's enclave in Istanbul,Turkey,was the first Primate of the new Church,His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kiyiv and All Ukraine,and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.
On 6 January,the two Primates will concelebrate the Divine Liturgy in the same church,and afterwards Patriarch Bartholomew will present the scrolled,handwritten and illuminated Tomos manuscript to Metropolitan Epifaniy.The manuscript will then be put on public display in the Small Sofia Church in Kyiv,following the Christmas Divine Liturgy celebrated by Metropolitan Epifaniy,39,at the St.Sofia Cathedral,the large church in the national heritage site,which will be filled with dignitaries attending the service,including intellectual and cultural figures.The general public will be able to pray in the cathedral courtyard in front of a big screen TV.*
The leading presidential candidate in the March election in Ukraine,Yulia Tymoshenko,praised the Tomos in a Facebook post,calling its signing:
a big and bright day in our national history.
The Tomos is a landmark.This is a symbol of the spiritual identity of the nation and a huge inspiration for the unity of Ukraine.May the Lord help us on our way.With faith in Ukraine;with faith in a better future.Onward,Ukraine!*
Ms.Tymoshenko,who was prime minister of Ukraine from 2007-10,currrently has a wide lead over her rivals,including the incumbent Mr.Poroshenko.She supports Ukraine's joining NATO and the European Union.
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