On 18 November 2016 in the office of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, Turkey, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij met with His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.
The UWC President called for the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant a Tomos of Autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyivan Patriarchate in response to the appeal of the President and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the 20-million Ukrainian diaspora in 53 countries united by the UWC. Eugene Czolij also presented the Ecumenical Patriarch with the Resolution of the UWC 2016 Annual General Meeting with this appeal.
The UWC President also informed the Ecumenical Patriarch about the Ukrainian diaspora and the priorities of its current activities which are primarily related to the defence of the territorial integrity of Ukraine from Russian aggression.
Also participating in the meeting were Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna and Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Serhiy Kasyanchuk.
“This meeting was important for conveying to the Ecumenical Patriarch the full support of the Ukrainian diaspora led by the Ukrainian World Congress for granting a Tomos of Autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyivan Patriarchate,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
