Patriarch Bartholomew and Epiphany Dumenko celebrate joint liturgy at Phanar

on January 6, 2026, the Patriarchal Church of the Holy Great Martyr George in Phanar in Istanbul hosted religious events jointly led by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko. This is reported by the press service of the OCU.

It is reported that the event was attended by the hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the clergy of the Patriarchate, as well as members of the OCU delegation. At the end of the events, Patriarch Bartholomew in his address to Epifaniy Dumenko reminded that seven years have passed since «the Mother Church with zeal and great effort took responsibility for the restoration of the church situation.» The patriarch emphasized that «the tears, labors, pains, difficulties and deep anxieties» of a number of his predecessors over the disorderly and painful church reality in Ukraine have become a martyr’s precipitate in the very being of the Church.»

Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized that the decision to grant the Tomos of autocephaly to the OCU was made after much reflection, prayer, care and exhaustion of all canonical avenues. He stated: «Our motives, we declare this with full clarity and strength of voice, were purely ecclesiastical. We did not yield to expediency and did not approach this issue superficially or lightly, as some falsely accuse us.»

In his response, Epifaniy Dumenko expressed his deep gratitude to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and personally to Patriarch Bartholomew for receiving the Tomos of autocephaly seven years ago. He noted that on this «symbolic and historic» day, the Ukrainian delegation arrived to «once again personally testify to our gratitude to the Mother Church and Your All-Holiness for everything that has been done for Ukraine and what you continue to do for our benefit.»

We have recently reported that Ukrainian schismatics have formed a «chaplaincy mission» in the canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The actual parish of the OCU in the Czech Republic will operate in the city of Brno, and the first religious event was held on August 23, 2025. The OCU is not deterred by the fact that the opening of parishes abroad is expressly prohibited by the «Tomos of Autocephaly», which provides for the organization’s functioning only within Ukraine.