While visiting the Carpathians Ukrainian Orthodox (Kyiv Patriarchate) Patriarch Filaret announced that he and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Patriarch Dimitriy had signed a memorandum on church unification. But in order to begin the unification process they still need the approval of two episcopates. The UOC Patriarch explained that the Ecumenical Patriarch does not acknowledge UAOC because of the rift. Filaret says that there is no difference between the UOC and UAOC, meaning that there are no reasons for their schism, reports our correspondent Taras Tkachuk. During his visit Filaret met with the Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk and other local clergy of the Greek-Catholic Church and noticed that the relationships between the Orthodox and Greek Catholics have improved.






