Canada congratulates the united Orthodox Church of Ukraine on receiving the tomos of autocephaly.

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland posted this on Twitter.

“Congratulations to the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine for receiving the Tomos of Autocephaly and becoming an independent and recognized, Autocephalous Church,” Freeland wrote.

She added that Canada “welcomes this positive change in recognition of Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

As reported, on January 6, 2019, the ceremony to hand over a tomos of autocephaly to the united Orthodox Church of Ukraine took place at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gave the document to Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epiphanius.

On December 15, 2018, the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv hosted a unification council of orthodox churches in Ukraine. At this council, the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church created a single local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, approved its charter and elected the primate - Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epiphanius.