U.S. supports autocephaly in Ukraine, – State Department rep
At a meeting with Petro Poroshenko, the US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom spoke about US support for autocephaly in Ukraine.
On September 11, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel D. Brownback met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, reports the President’s website.
The President then informed Ambassador Brownback about the steps being taken towards the creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church, thanking the American side for its active support of Ukraine in this process.
In turn, Brownback assured the Ukrainian head of state that the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine in what it sees as its struggle for the restoration of its sovereignty and territorial integrity and the right to have a single autocephalous Orthodox Church.
As previously noted by experts, the U.S. is involved in the process of creating autocephaly in Ukraine, which is confirmed by the increased attention to this issue of American diplomats.
Earlier, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has appointed Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon (the U.S) and Bishop Hilarion of Edmonton (Canada) as its exarchs in Kiev "within the framework of the preparations for the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine". The UOC considered this step Constantinople as intruding to its canonical territory.
