The process of creating a new autocephalous Ukrainian church concluded on Sunday, January 6, 2019, as Patriarch Bartholomew handed the tomos of autocephaly to the primate of the new nationalist church “Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko in the Church of St. George in Istanbul.
Constantinople now faces the task of convincing the entire Orthodox world to recognize the new church and to suddenly stop recognizing His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine as the canonical head of the Ukrainian Church. Pat. Bartholomew has thus far ignored the warnings of other Synods, primates, and hierarchs, and the Churches of Poland and Serbia have already explicitly rejected Constantinople’s appeal for recognition.
Before handing over the tomos, Pat. Bartholomew read the text during the solemn service. He then handed Epiphany Dumenko the tomos and a patriarchal bishop’s staff, reports the Ukrainian site Strana.
Dumenko thanked Philaret Denisenko, calling him “our holy hierarch,” recalling that Constantinople had removed the anathema canonically placed on him by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Denisenko headed the schismatic “Kiev Patriarchate” that now dominates the new Ukrainian schismatic church. He forced the leading candidate for primate to step down so that Dumenko, his protégé, could win. Denisenko has since declared that he will continue to rule the church.
Epiphany Dumenko also said that the late head of the canonical Ukrainian Church His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan) “worked hard to make this day come.”
The ceremony was attended by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the rest of the Ukrainian delegation of schismatic hierarchs and politicians.
The tomos will be on display tomorrow in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.
Photo: spzh.news