President of World Congress of Ukrainians asks for autocephaly in Istanbul

A Canadian lawyer of the Ukrainian origin, President of the World Congress of Ukrainians (WCU) Yevgeny Choliy met with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in Istanbul on January 30, 2018. The purpose of the meeting was to present the Resolution of the WCU Annual General Meeting-2017 with an appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew to grant autocephaly to the UOC-KP, reports the WCU website.

"The World Congress of Ukrainians calls on the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to publish Tomos on the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate," Yevgeny Choliy insists.

The President of the WCU also briefed Patriarch Bartholomew on the current European integration processes in Ukraine.

Recall, on January 31, 2017 "Patriarch" Filaret stated that he did not agree to a single Church under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In September 2016, UOC-KP "bishop" Matthew (Shevchuk) of Vladimir-Volynsky said that Constantinople "betrayed the Ukrainians" and "sold the Ukrainian Church" to Moscow.