Head of Kyiv Patriarchate ready to meet with Patriarch Kirill

10:19, 04.12.2017 1 min read

 Patriarch Filaret (Denisenko) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, said he is ready to meet with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, for negotiations, but has no intention of giving up the idea of autocephaly.

"If he [Patriarch Kirill] suggested a meeting, I would, of course, agree, but I would not give up my position, namely, autocephaly of the Ukrainian church," he said on the 1+1 TV channel on Sunday evening.

He said he has not received any offers of a meeting.

Filaret said he realized that negotiations with the administration of the Russian Orthodox Church could draw an ambiguous reaction in the Kyiv Patriarchate.

"I have warned that we should stay united regardless of the outcome of these negotiations, the decision of the Bishops' Council [of the Russian Orthodox Church], because unity is more important to us that autocephaly," Filaret said.