Following the decision made by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to grant independence (autocephaly) to the Ukrainian Church, ending centuries of Moscow’s ecclesiastical authority in the country, the Ukrainian parliament voted in favor of an amendment proposed by the President of the country, Petro Poroshenko.
According to the proposal, the Ukrainian State cedes the rights of free and permanent use of the iconic church of Saint Andrew to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The church will be used as the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s delegation to the country.
Saint Andrew’s church is a masterpiece of baroque architecture built between 1747 and 1754, based on the designs of the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
Situated on a steep hill, Saint Andrew’s Church overlooks the historic Podil neighborhood of Kiev.