Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew has declared that the nature of autocephaly provided to the OCU is the same as that of other local churches.
Meanwhile, the Mother Church of Constantinople is only called to help its "children," the patriarch said in an interview with TSN.
Drawing analogies with the mother-child-type of relations, Patriarch Bartholomew noted that dues to external circumstances, after "baptizing" her children, Mother Church was forced to tell them to learn to live on their own and govern themselves.
However, Bartholomew says, in times of hardship, Mother Church will always be there to help with spiritual resources, including the experience.
Read alsoNew Ukrainian church punishes Filaret, taking from "patriarch" Kyiv diocese, temples
Actually, Patriarch Bartholomew personally confirmed that the Ukrainian church is independent, similar to other local churches.
Also, Bartholomew expressed regret regarding the actions of Filaret against the background of the latter's attempts to restore the Kyiv Patriarchate in defiance of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Bartholomew noted that, while Filaret should have become a mentor for his spiritual son, Metropolitan Epifaniy, he had chosen a different path, which Bartholomew called wrong, TSN reports.
