Metropolitan Epiphanius completed his visit to Mount Athos: a symbolic step on the anniversary of the Tomos.

Metropolitan Epiphanius completed his trip to Mount Athos

According to inkorr.com: On October 12, Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, concluded his three-day trip to Mount Athos, where he visited the holy sites as a pilgrim and monk. This was reported by

"Glavkom"

The historical significance of the visit to Mount Athos

Epiphanius emphasized that his visit was not accidental, as it was exactly in October seven years ago that the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced that the Kyiv Metropolis was not under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the decisions of the Russian Church regarding Ukrainian hierarchs, clergy, and laity lost their power.

"Seven years ago, these prophetic decisions of our Mother Church opened the way to the Unification Council in St. Sophia and to the receipt of the Tomos of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. For me, it was important and a spiritual joy to offer thanksgiving prayers on the Holy Mountain on the anniversary of those historical events," he explained.

The situation with the Ukrainian church

Previously, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew noted that various churches are calling on him to convene an All-Orthodox Assembly or Synaxis of Orthodox Primates to discuss the Ukrainian church issue, which could lead to a loss of autocephaly for Ukraine.

Metropolitan Epiphanius also expressed his willingness to meet with the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate Onufriy.

This trip of Metropolitan Epiphanius to the holy site significantly emphasizes the spiritual strength and unity of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and has great historical significance. The restoration of autocephaly and the receipt of the Tomos have become important stages in the development of the Ukrainian church structure, while meetings with other Orthodox churches contribute to establishing cooperation and rapprochement among them.