Ukraine expects from the Patriarchate of Constantinople the recognition of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian local Orthodox Church, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said.
"The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir the Great accepted the Christian faith from the Church of Constantinople 1029 years ago, which is still the Mother Church for us. From which we, as a country with one of the largest Orthodox communities in the world, expect the earliest recognition of the natural autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church - a large one in number of faithful people, equal to other local Orthodox churches. And, clearly, it is spiritually and administratively independent of Moscow, from the aggressor country," reads the appeal of the Ukrainian president on the occasion of the Christianization Day of Kyivan Rus.
