Independence decree presented to Ukrainian Orthodox bishop

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has presented a decree of independence to the Metropolitan bishop of the nascent Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

In Istanbul on Sunday, Patriarch Bartholomew I presented the Tomos, a scroll containing the decree, in a symbolic ceremony sanctifying the Ukrainian church’s independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. He signed the decree on Saturday.

The decision to split from the Moscow Patriarchate after more than three centuries of ties has angered Russia. The Russian church has severed ties with Istanbul, the center of the Orthodox world.

Metropolitan Epiphanius I, who was elected last month by Ukrainian Orthodox leaders to head the new church, will take the decree to Kiev.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who has campaigned for the new church, is attending the two-day ceremony.