OCU representatives meet with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at Phanar

The delegation of the OCU, led by the head of the organization Epifaniy Dumenko, is visiting Istanbul on the occasion of the 7th anniversary of the Tomos of autocephaly. on January 5, during the visit, representatives of the Ukrainian schism visited the Phanar, where they were received by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. This was reported by the press service of the OCU.

The visit began on January 4, 2026. At the airport of Istanbul, the delegation, which included the Chief Secretary of the Synod of the OCU Simeon Shostatsky, Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations Hilarion Protsyk and other members of the OCU, was met by officials of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ukrainian diplomatic corps, including Consul General in Istanbul Roman Nedilsky. On the same day, with the blessing of Patriarch Bartholomew, a meeting and dinner was held at the Metropolis of Chalcedon (Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey), organized by Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon.

on January 5, 2026, Epiphany Dumenko and the representatives of the OCU who accompanied him arrived at the residence of Patriarch Bartholomew at Phanar (Istanbul, Turkey). In the Patriarchal Church of St. George, they venerated the shrines and prayed during the rite of the Great Blessing of Water.

Later, an official meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew and the head of the OCU Epifaniy Dumenko took place at the Patriarchal Residence. The meeting was attended by Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon and other representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, as well as Metropolitans Simeon Shostatsky, Hilarion Protsyk and members of the OCU delegation.

On behalf of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko expressed his sincere gratitude to Patriarch Bartholomew for the historic decision taken seven years ago by him and the Church in Constantinople to grant the Tomos of autocephaly to the OCU.

«Together with our brothers, we arrived on the seventh anniversary of those historic events that took place here at Phanar to once again testify in prayer, in worship and in communion to the gratitude of our Church to the Mother Church, to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to testify to our spiritual and prayerful unity and to ask the Lord in this sacred center of Orthodoxy on the great feast of the Epiphany for the victory of truth and the establishment of a just peace for Ukraine. We also reaffirm that we strive to establish church unity in Ukraine and are sincerely open to a constructive dialogue on the basis of the Tomos of autocephaly,» the Primate of the OCU said in his speech.

Patriarch Bartholomew, in turn, said: «We are pleased to welcome Your Beatitude and your brothers to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we are glad to have you visit us, especially on such a historic occasion and at a time when the future of peace for Ukraine is being decided. We assure you that our decision to grant the Tomos of autocephaly was, is and will remain firm and unchanged. This is the canonical order and this is the response of the Mother Church to the numerous requests of your clergy, people and state. We congratulate Your Beatitude and are glad that tomorrow we will jointly give thanks to God during the Liturgy of the Epiphany.»

In honor of the reception, Epifaniy Dumenko presented Patriarch Bartholomew with memorable gifts on behalf of the OCU. The conversation continued at a Lenten lunch in the Patriarchal refectory with a wider circle of participants.

Earlier, we reported that the religious scholar and media lobbyist of the OCU Yuriy Chornomorets shared unexpected details about the recent corruption scandal involving the head of the Stavropegion of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, Bishop Mikhail Anishchenko of Komana. According to Chornomorets, Anishchenko’s attempt to bail out former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshev, who is one of the main suspects in the case of corruption and illegal enrichment in the highest echelons of the Ukrainian government, is connected with pressure on the bishop by the Security Service of Ukraine.