On Monday, January 7, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church held its first service after splitting from Russia. The New York Times reports that the break was made official on Jan 6 in Istanbul (still recognized by the Orthodox Church as Constantinople) when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I gave a Tomos of Autocephaly to Metropolitan Epifaniy, the Ukrainian Church’s new leader.
“Today, our Orthodox Church is ready for independent existence,” said Ukraine’s president, Petro O. Poroshenko, who was present during the ceremony. “The Ukrainian people thank God and what has happened is a true miracle, which we owe to the Creator’s will.”
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s first service since the split celebrated the Christmas holiday. Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar and observe Christmas on January 7 instead of on December 25.
At the service, Metropolitan Epifaniy, along with President Poroshenko, brought the newly received Tomos into Kiev’s St. Sophia Cathedral. Hundreds of people stood for two hours in the snow, watching the service on screens outside of the cathedral because there was no room inside it. They also waited in line afterward to see the Tomos. Read More
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