KIEV, November 30. /TASS/. Ukrainian Orthodox Church reporting to the schismatic Kiev Patriarchate, which is not recognized by the global Eastern Orthodox Christian community, is ready to conduct dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church exceptionally on recognition of the Ukrainian autocephaly, while any repentance or return to the realm of the Russian Church is fully ruled out, Archbishop Evstraty Zorya, the press secretary of the Kiev Patriarchate said on Thursday.
"The only kind of dialogue the Patriarch and the Kiev Patriarchate want to conduct with the Russian Orthodox Church and are ready for is on the recognition of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church," he wrote in Facebook. "Any repentance before the Russian Church or, more than that, return to its realm is out of the question.
Earlier on Thursday, the Council of Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted a document, which said the founder of the schismatic Ukrainian Orthodox Church reporting to Kiev Patriarchate had sent a letter to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill I asking the latter to pardon him and to help overcome the split of the Church in Ukraine.
The document said the letter also contained a request on revoking all the prohibitive decisions, including disciplinary punishments and excommunications, for the sake of "reaching peace between the Orthodox Christians, who share faith, and reconciliation between peoples."
The letter ended with the words: "I am asking to forgive me for all the sins I committed in words deeds, and all my senses. On my part, I sincerely forgive everyone."
The Council said it had accepted the appeal with satisfaction and was considering it as a step towards eliminating the schism and restoration of rapport.