The talks between the delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew
The delegation of the UOC headed by Metropolitan of Odessa and Izmail Agafangel arrived in Istanbul.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church arrived at the official meeting on June 23. Reported Information-enlightenment Department of the UOC.
The delegation consisted of Metropolitan of Donetsk and Mariupol Hilarion, Kamianets-Podilskyi and Gorodok Theodore, Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, DECR Deputy Chairman Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich.
Before the meeting, the delegation visited the Hagia Sophia, where he prayed for peace in Ukraine. The delegation then went to Fanar where is located the official residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
In the Patriarchal Church of St. George the bishops of the UOC venerated the miraculous icons and relics of the three saints and prayed for peace in Ukraine.
Before the meeting, Patriarch Bartholomew said a prayer, and members of the delegation began negotiations. The Patriarch of Constantinople welcomed the delegation of the UOC, and presented the talks: Metropolitan John of Pergamon, Metropolitan Emmanuel Gali, Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna, and also the staff of the Patriarchate.
The Metropolitan, as the head of the delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, welcomed Patriarch Bartholomew conveyed the best wishes of his Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine Onuphrius and thanked for the warm reception and the opportunity to discuss important, pressing issues in the Affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The negotiations continued.
Earlier, the Deputy Vadim Novinsky stated that the Patriarch of Constantinople will never support the request of politicians on autocephaly, as it would cause a rift of the entire Orthodoxy.