US to support decision on granting Tomos of Autocephaly to Ukraine

"We do not interfere at the stage of adoption of a decision to grant the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. But when such a decision is made, we will support it and we will be happy to help at the stage of its implementation, if necessary," United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said at the meeting with Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy, the parliament’s press service reports.

In turn, the Ukrainian Parliament Speaker underlined that the very fact of interest in this topic from the U.S. side and the visit was a very good sign. He expressed the hope that Ukraine would get a positive decision on granting the Tomos of Autocephaly this year.

At the same time, he stressed that "Putin has used all the leverages to prevent this."

Russia would use the religious issue to intervene in the parliamentary and presidential elections in Ukraine, Parubiy noted.

"All the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, all the bishops of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called on Patriarch Bartholomew to support granting the autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Recently, Patriarch Bartholomew announced that making a decision on the autocephalous status of the Ukrainian church is the sovereign right of Constantinople," the Ukrainian Parliament Speaker said.

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