MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st August, 2018) Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will visit Turkey on Friday and hold a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in Istanbul.
The patriarchs are expected to discuss issues related to the status of the church in Ukraine and the preservation of Orthodox unity among other things.
The two patriarchs previously met at the meetings of the primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches on January 22-27, 2016 in Switzerland's Chambesy and on March 6-9, 2014, in Turkey's Istanbul. In July, a delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople came to Moscow for negotiations with Patriarch Kirill.
Orthodox churches operating in Ukraine, aside from the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which is a self-governing church within the Moscow Patriarchate, also include those that are not recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, such as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC).
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is trying to achieve recognition of non-canonical institutions and to create a single local autocephalous church based on them. In April, Poroshenko said that Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was launching the procedures required to establish the Autocephalous Church in Ukraine.
In response to the appeal of the Ukrainian secular authorities, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople stated that it had decided to be in close contact with other sister Orthodox churches for their information and coordination on this request.
