KIEV, November 12. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko is set to meet with the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra on Tuesday afternoon, the office of the Kiev Metropolitan See told TASS on Monday.
"So far, there have been no reports stating that the meeting will not happen, so everything is according to plan," the agency’s source stated, adding that Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, is likely to be present at the meeting. The aim and agenda of the meeting are unknown, the office stated.
At the same time, Kliment, bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, told a TASS correspondent that the hierarchs would arrive at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra on Tuesday at 2pm.
Earlier, the Ukrainian outlet Strana published a document issued by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate calling all members of the clergy to attend the meeting with the president. The document states that all eparchial and vicarious hierarchs are obligated to attend the meeting at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Earlier, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has announced the decision to lift the anathema against leaders of two extracanonical churches in Ukraine - Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and Makariy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, a representative of the patriarchate informed on the outcomes of the Holy Synod, which took place on October 9-11. The Ecumenical Patriarchate also announced that it is starting the process of granting autocephalous status to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In response to this, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has made a decision to cease joint Eucharistic celebrations (joint liturgies) with Constantinople.
On November 10, the Ukrainian newspaper Vesti reported that head of the Kiev Patriarchate Filaret and head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Makariy had sent letters to Constantinople with requests to drop their names from the list of candidates for the head of the Ukrainian autocephalous church. According to the sources in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Makariy requested that the head be chosen among the representatives of the Constantinople Patriarchate, while Filaret offered his prot·g·, vicar of the Kiev Patriarchate Metropolitan Epiphanius.