Filaret gives Poroshenko Order of St. Andrew the First-Called

Patriarch Filaret has handed over the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for his active participation in the process of obtaining a tomos of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The award ceremony took place after a prayer service at the Intercession Cathedral in Rivne on the occasion of the receipt of the tomos of autocephaly and the formation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent said.

"Today, taking this solemn opportunity, I would like to hand over to the president the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, which we awarded him on December 15 when there was a unification council at St. Sophia Cathedral," Filaret said.

He recalled that then it was decided to present awards to the president, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy and "some other active figures who took an active part in obtaining the tomos of autocephaly."

On January 8, Poroshenko awarded Patriarch Filaret the Hero of Ukraine title for his contribution to the struggle for the creation of a local church in Ukraine.