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Patriarch
Bartholomew of Constantinople thanked the Primate of the Ukrainian
Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) for his support
of the Pan-Orthodox Council, which he expressed in his letter.
It is reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.
“We
are pleased to avail ourselves of this opportunity to express our
sincere gratitude for your letter of fraternal wishes for the Holy and
Great Council, which - with the grace of the Holy Spirit and synergies
of our fellow Primates and hierarchs of the Local Orthodox Churches all
over the world - was finally convened on June 19 and successfully ended
on June 26, 2016 at the Orthodox Academy of Crete,” the Ecumenical
Patriarch writes.
Patriarch
Bartholomew said in his letter: “We can assure Your Eminence that our
commitment to dialogue with our Sister Church was overwhelmingly
supported in the conciliar sessions and officially recorded in the final
document. This, in our opinion, is certainly crucial for reliable and
unified witness to the Gospel in our troubled world and time.”
Also
Patriarch Bartholomew assured of his prayer “for peace and stability in
Ukraine.” “May Almighty God protect and keep your blessed country,”
Ecumenical Patriarch wished.
Note
that in May 2016 the patriarch wrote a letter to the Patriarch of
Constantinople, in which he expressed its support for the Council on
Crete.
“Many
of the hierarchs who gathered to reflect on the problems facing the
Orthodox Church may be surprised to learn that the Head of the church,
which is often referred to as the greatest obstacle to ecumenical
dialogue, will support you sincere prayer that God’s presence really
felt in all your discussions, because “where two or three are gathered
in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18, 20),” Patriarch Sviatoslav
said.
In
his letter, the UGCC Patriarch also recalled that 21 years ago members
of the Kyivan Church Study Group made a visit to the Phanar.
“I assure you that the same spirit of ecumenical openness and sincerity that you then saw the Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarchs and clergy has been kept alive today. Therefore, there is one question I would suggest for the Council to consider - to discuss the possibility of implementing joint projects on history for the “purification of memory” and healing the wounds of the past,” the head of the UGCC wrote in his letter.
