ROC should recognize right of Ukrainians to autocephaly - Bartholomew

The Russian Orthodox Church should recognize the right of Ukrainians to autocephaly. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stated this at a liturgy in Istanbul, - RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to the Greek website protothema.

Bartholomew noted that Constantinople continues to "talk about love" while the ROC is going to split the churches. He also acknowledged that the question of Ukrainian autocephaly became a reason for a clash with the ROC.

"It is difficult for the ROC to understand that, as the Ecumenical Patriarchate liberated the peoples in the Balkans, thereby weakening itself, but recognized their right to internal self-government, church independence and autocephaly… in the same way, Moscow should have recognized that the Ukrainian people… have the right to autocephaly", - Bartholomew stated.

Earlier, bishop of the Church of Constantinople, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches Job (Getcha) stated that the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate no longer exists. Last weekend during the visit of President Poroshenko to Istanbul, the Ukrainian party and the Ecumenical Patriarchate signed an agreement on the establishment of independent church.