Ukraine's church will be second largest among all Orthodox churches - Filaret

"After the unification of all Orthodox Ukrainians, the Ukrainian Church will be the second largest after the Russian Church. [...] This means that it will play a respective role in world Orthodoxy, because it is big, just like Ukraine. Ukraine will get strengthened through the church, and the church must influence our society morally - eradicate falsehood, injustice, corruption, and build a just life based on state laws," Ukraine's Channel 5 quoted Filaret as saying.

He expressed confidence that the unification of all Orthodox Ukrainians will definitely take place and there is no other way. "If we have a state, if we have our own Ukrainian church, Orthodox believers must belong to this church. Many Ukrainians now belong to the Russian Orthodox Church under the guise of a Ukrainian church. Now that we have received a tomos and a single Orthodox Church has been proclaimed in Ukraine, Ukrainian believers will be joining the Orthodox Church of Ukraine," Filaret said.

At the same time, he added that such unification could be delayed. "But we need to work much, because force, as well as hostility and accusations, cannot lead to unity. This should not happen, because love unites people, and sin separates them. If we want to unite, we should love each other and not remember the past," Filaret said.

Therefore, he urged the clergy, bishops, and faithful of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to treat the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine with love.

On January 5, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew signed a tomos of autocephaly (a decree of ecclesial independence) of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

On January 6, the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul hosted a tomos handover ceremony and a Divine Liturgy that was concelebrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epiphanius.