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Patriarch of Moscow, Constantinople to meet in Istanbul

Moscow, August 31, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will meet with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in Istanbul on Friday morning.

Though the summit was scheduled in early August, the both sides do not reveal the agenda of the meeting saying that they will discuss "bilateral issues of interest."

Meanwhile, numerous spectators expect that the current meeting will clarify the question about establishing the so-called "one autocephalous Church" of Ukraine, which is sought by secular authorities of the country.

As was reported that on April 17, 2018 president Pyotr Poroshenko announced his intentional to ask Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to issue the tomos of autocephaly for Ukraine's Orthodox Church. Two days after, deputies of the Supreme Rada supported his initiative.

This topic remained one of the most discussed in Ukrainian media and Orthodox diplomatic circles for months. In course of numerous bilateral contacts of the Moscow Patriarchate highest officials and bishops of other Orthodox Churches of the world, the latter stated the necessity of preserving church unity and impossibility of interfering in interior affairs of the Russian Church. It has been stated that it is impossible to legitimize the schism in Ukraine and the only canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine headed by Metropolitan Onufry has not asked for autocephaly.

After the Istanbul meeting of the two patriarchs was announced, it was declared that session of the Constantinople Patriarchate, which, according to the media, could consider "the Ukrainian question" was transferred from September to October. At the same time, as was planned, the Sinaxis, which is a meeting of all Constantinople hierarchs headed by Patriarch Bartholomew, will be held on September 1-3 in Istanbul.

The previous meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Patriarch Bartholomew took place at the concelebration of Primates of autocephalous Churches in January 2016 in Chambesy. Earlier the two patriarchs met in March 2014 at concelebration of Primates of autocephalous Churches in Istanbul, in October 2013 in Podgorica (Montenegro) and during Patriarch Bartholomew's visit to Russia in 2010, and during Patriarch Kirill's official visit to the Constantinople Orthodox Church in July 2009.

Istanbul became the first foreign city visited by Patriarch Kirill after he was elected the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Then he said about his intention to contribute to increasing the number of pilgrims to Turkey and consecrated the Sts Elena and Constantine Church at the residence of Russian consulate in Buyukdere.

During that meeting Patriarch Bartholomew spoke about necessity to hold constructive dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate in spite of temporarily appearing contradictions. He noted that "clouds" from time to time turning up in the relations between the two "fraternal Churches" has "temporal character" and would "pass by" quickly. "No one would be able to take away our unity which we acquired in one chalice", Patriarch Bartholomew said then.

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