https://sputnikglobe.com/20190103/ukraine-customs-russia-church-christmas-address-1071202861.html
Kiev Seizes Copies of Russian Orthodox Church Leader's Christmas Address
Kiev Seizes Copies of Russian Orthodox Church Leader's Christmas Address
Sputnik International
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukrainian customs officers have seized copies of an address by Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill that was to be read out in Ukrainian... 03.01.2019, Sputnik International
2019-01-03T21:51+0000
2019-01-03T21:51+0000
2022-10-19T21:14+0000
https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/101319/84/1013198404_0:185:2881:1814_1920x0_80_0_0_59999eeb9c6901611a20b2d63f9efc82.jpg
ukraine
russia
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
2019
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
News
en_EN
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/101319/84/1013198404_0:94:2881:1905_1920x0_80_0_0_c252fe9ed8849308495b14ba7cd6d1db.jpgSputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
newsfeed, europe, ukraine, russia, russian orthodox church
newsfeed, europe, ukraine, russia, russian orthodox church
Kiev Seizes Copies of Russian Orthodox Church Leader's Christmas Address
21:51 GMT 03.01.2019 (Updated: 21:14 GMT 19.10.2022) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukrainian customs officers have seized copies of an address by Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill that was to be read out in Ukrainian churches next Monday when Orthodox Christians mark Christmas, the spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church said.
"Sources in Ukraine say that local customs has confiscated all copies of the Christmas address by Patriarch Kirill, which was sent from Russia to be traditionally read out at the church celebration on January 7," Vladimir Legoida said in a post on Telegram.
![Объединительный собор на Украине Объединительный собор на Украине - Sputnik International](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22600%22%20height=%22264%22%3E%3C/svg%3E)
26 December 2018, 10:09 GMT
The spokesman said that the official reason was a breach of "customs formalities." He added that in this day and age the patriarch’s address could be read from a smartphone screen.
A "unification council" was held in Kiev last month on the initiative of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew. It named Epiphany Dumenko as head of the new "autocephalous church." The Ukrainian authorities expect to get tomos of autocephaly from Constantinople in early January.
READ MORE: Prince Charles 'Completely Overwhelmed' By Russian Orthodox Liturgy
The council was attended by representatives of mostly non-canonical structures, which are not recognized by the world's Orthodox churches. Only two bishops of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) took part in the meeting. The Moscow Patriarchate has described it as "legalization of schism," stressing that it would affect millions of Christians in Ukraine and abroad.