Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has substantiated the canonical and legal jurisdiction of his church in Ukraine based on historical facts, referring to centuries-old documents on the relationship between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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The Ecumenical Patriarchate responded to the demand of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to withdraw the exarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from Ukraine, since according to the UOC-MP their appointment had been a gross interference in the internal affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the violation of its canonical territory, according to Orthodoxia.info.
In particular, the Ecumenical Patriarchate published archives of church history and specifically the history of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the time of the baptism of Kievan Rus.
The publication is the result of research by Greek and Russian scholars who had access to the original texts of the archives of the Patriarch of Constantinople and his correspondence within many centuries. All arguments of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are based on this study, which refutes all Moscow's accusations against Constantinople of "invading" its canonical dioceses.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate considers it appropriate to recall all the historical and canonical truth about the relationship of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as evidenced by the official documents, which, unfortunately, are either ignored or deliberately concealed for understandable reasons, the study's preface said. The document provides an opportunity to trace the whole history of the development of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In this regard, it is said that with the help of the study, especially thanks to the original correspondence, which is published for the first time, the Ecumenical Patriarchate confirms its canonical and legal jurisdiction in Ukraine. Moreover, it proves that the Moscow Patriarchate has violated the rules of the Patriarchal and Synodal Act of 1686 of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which the latter had to endure and remain silent, but never forgot and did not forgive.
