"Ukrainian people have been waiting for this long 332 years". Ukrainian church was granted autocephaly - Poroshenko

The Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has granted autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church, and after the Council, the Primate of the Ukrainian Local Orthodox Church will receive Tomos. This was reported by President Poroshenko in his address to the Ukrainians on the evening of October 11.

"The decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch and Synod finally dispelled the imperial illusions and chauvinistic fantasies of Moscow, not supported by any ecclesiastical and legal document - about Ukraine as the supposedly canonical territory of the Russian Church. The fact that the so-called "transition" of the Kyiv metropolia to the possession of Moscow did not occur "according to the canonical rules", was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as early as 1924. And today, the Synod has once again confirmed this position", - Poroshenko stated.

"By God's providence, all Orthodox states received their independence, their Local Churches appeared. This is Bulgaria, this is Greece, this is Georgia, this is Serbia, this is Cyprus, this is Romania, and this is Russia. Now our state of Ukraine is added to them!" - the President noted.

He stressed that "the issue of Tomos and Autocephaly goes far beyond the bounds of church life".

"That is why the state has joined it. It is a question of our independence. It is a question of our national security. It is a question of our statehood. It is a question of all world geopolitics. It is the fall of the Third Rome as Moscow's oldest conceptual claim for world domination", - Poroshenko stated.

"Autocephaly is a part of our state pro-European and pro-Ukrainian strategy, which we have been consistently implementing during the past four years and, I stress, will implement it in the future. This is the basis of our own development path, development of the state of Ukraine and development of the Ukrainian nation", - Poroshenko noted.

"Tomos is actually another Act of proclamation of independence of Ukraine. The Empire is losing one of the last levers of influence on its former colony", - he stated.

"For us, our own church is a guarantee of our spiritual freedom. It is a pledge of social harmony. I guarantee that the state of Ukraine will respect the choice of those who decide to remain in the church structure that will maintain unity with the Russian Orthodox Church. But I also guarantee that the state will protect the rights of those priests and laity of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate who will voluntarily decide to go out from under Moscow in order to create the United Ukrainian Orthodox Local Church together with other Orthodox Christians", - Poroshenko noted.

He stressed: "Ukrainian authorities guarantee the observance of religious freedom for believers of all confessions. We did not have and we will not have a state church. And no one will "invite" anyone in the Orthodox Church consecrated by Tomos by force. I stress once again that this is a free matter choice for every believer. A joint creation of the independent church cannot be a basis for contention, opposition or violence. We definitely should not allow this to happen. On the contrary, this is the road to peace, calmness and understanding".

"As soon as you see people who will urge you to take a lavra, monastery or temple by force, you should know that these are Moscow agents. Because the Kremlin's goal is to spark a religious war in Ukraine. And this is definitely not my plan, not plan of the Ukrainian people or Ukrainian state", - Poroshenko stated.

"I congratulate everyone on this great day, which the Ukrainian people have been waiting for long 332 years", - the President concluded.