www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Ukr. pres & Constantinople Patriarch discuss united Church

Ukrainian president and Patriarc...nt of united Local Church in Ukraine [interfax-religion.com]

Kiev, June 26, Interfax - Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople discussed, in Istanbul on Tuesday, the establishment of a united Local Church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian president's press service reported.

According to the press service, the patriarch also expressed hope that the situation in Ukraine will stabilize after the early parliamentary elections and added that he was praying for the unity of Ukraine.

Patriarch Bartholomew conveyed through President Yuschenko his blessing upon the Ukrainian people.

They also discussed the religious formation of young people on the basis of Christian ethics.

In conclusion of their meeting, President Yuschenko and Patriarch Bartholomew exchanged tokens.

Bus tokens? What kind of tokens? Inquiring minds want to know.

:-)

Perhaps this has to do with the New York Subway - breakdowns are so frequent that riding the NY Subway is often referred to as a token run.

Fr. Serge

The unity of the Ukrainian Churches will depend on the government in place. Ukraine has a president who is for the unity of the Orthodox Churches, and the Prime Minister who is Muscovy's lap dog and would prefer to see only a Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (otherwisde known as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate).

Next fall the elections will probably generate a prime minister who is favorable to the creation a single Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There will be no more significant resistance at the government level, in fact there will be a majority of politicians and existing president who will be favorable to the idea.

Whe Muscovy or it's Moscow Patriarch begins to complain - and they will - Kyiv will begin to release the until recently classified archives from the time of the revolution which will clearly implicate the ROC and it's hierarchy in the persecution of all Christians in Ukraine.

Merci

JF

Kyiv has already released quite a lot of those documents - I have 3 fat volumes.

Fr. Serge

No doubt that will end well.

Can you post some information on these volumes (i.e., references, how to get copies, etc.)? I am sure that there are many who need to see the evidence.

I can post some information, and will try to do so tomorrow. As to obtaining the books, good luck. A friend of mine in Ukraine was kind enough to send them to me as a gift. They have ISBNs, which may help in attempting to order them. I have no idea what the price tag is.

Be warned - in order to use these books intelligently, one needs a good reading knowledge of both Russian and Ukrainian. I wish I could say that I'd love to translate them, but the lingo of the KGB and related bodies is not exactly scintillating and compelling reading. It might cure insomnia. Still, buried amongst all the verbose garbage are gems of information.

Fr. Serge

Dear Administrator,

Recently President Yuschenko of Ukraine argued that the state archives should be opened to the public so that the citizens of Ukraine are fully made aware of the brutality of their Soviet history. Unfortunately, many people, particularly the old have had a hard time understanding how their families were wipped out by the Soviets and simply believe much of the old Sovie propaganda.

After President Yushchenko made his request to open the archives and make the people more aware of their past, it was the leader of the Orthodox Brotherhood of Ukraine (a largely Russian minority organization) which declared that the archives should not be opened and instead forever closed to the public. Shortly after this, the Moscow Patriarch awarded this 'Brotherhood' leader a medal for his outstanding services to the Muscovite Church.

Moscow's Patriarch wants the Soviet records closed forever.

The question is why when all other churches are asking that they be opened ???

Here is the news story:

oscow Patriarchate Honors Head of Ukraine Union of Orthodox Citizens
20.06.2007, [17:46] // Orthodox //

Moscow � On 18 June 2007, for his contribution to the church and on his 50th birthday, Valerii Kaurov, head of the Union of Orthodox Citizens of Ukraine (UOCU), was awarded the Order of Prince Danilo of Moscow of the 3rd degree by Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Kaurov is also head of the Odesa Region�s Orthodox-patriotic organization Single Fatherland.

Kaurov has headed the office of the UOCU since 2005. He is an initiator of the creation of the Conference of Russian Citizens of Ukraine, consisting of three all-Ukrainian Orthodox unions and 44 regional Russian and Orthodox organizations.

Metropolitan Kirill underlined that the work of Kaurov and his colleagues �is of great importance not only for Odesa and Ukraine but also for the whole church� since �he struggles to preserve its heritage.�

The head of the UOCU expressed his gratitude to Patriarch Alexis II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Kirill for their trust and the high church honor.

�We base our work on church canons. We not only protect the Russian language but also try to preserve and strengthen the long-lasting friendship between our brotherly nations,� said Kaurov.

Source:


� http://mospat.ru/index.php?page=36635

They give "the Order of the Third Degree"? Somehow that seems thoroughly appropriate!

Fr. Serge

Some other time. They're monitoring my blood pressure.

Alexandr

I am not going to get into this argument, the only thing I am going to say is that Jean's unfounded attack on the MP is despicable.

Also I will argue that the MP should urge the opening of the KGB archives as soon as the Vatican opens all ITS archives to the general public.

The hipocracy and arrogance of some is just ostounding.

Well you realise that this means Valerii Kaurov will never be awarded the "Order of Prince Danylo of Lviv" by Metr. Filaret.


Borislav, does this mean you think the Vatican is the same as the KGB? Please explain the comparison.

Not at all, but it is hypocritical for a Roman Catholic to accuse the Russian Orthodox Church of not urging the opening of KGB archives, while the Vatican to this day refuses to open its archives to the general public.

Simply pointing out the double standard in the above posters flawed logic.

Ohh, and I am sure there are many people here who have an "extensive knowledge of both Russian and Ukrainian". Myself included...

Borislav, I agree with you. While I doubt the Vatican archives house the kind of detailed information about the likes of a Drozdov and other similar MP-KGB activities, I am willing to look at all of the available information, and ALL should be open and transparent regarding Soviet-era activity.