Patriarch grants Ukrainian church autonomy

istanbul - The head of orthodox Christians worldwide has formally granted the Ukrainian church autonomy on Saturday. It means a historic break with Russia. The Ukrainian leaders consider the...

The decree was signed by the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I during a service with the head of the Ukrainian church, the metropolitan Epifaniy and President Petro Poroshenko in the St. George's Cathedral of the Patriarchate in Istanbul. Poroshenko compares this step with the Ukrainian referendum for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.