Turkey: Orthodox head rejects Russian church's claims

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) - Istanbul’s Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew has rejected claims that he received money for autocephaly of Ukrainian Orthodox church.

"Although Russian church accuses me of receiving money to make this autocephaly, in reality, I did not receive money but many candies and chocolates from the factory of [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko," Bartholomew said during a Christmas event in Fener neighborhood of Istanbul.

Bartholomew said like the U.S. President Donald Trump, Poroshenko is also a businessman and he has a chocolate factory.

In a video shared on Facebook on Monday, Bartholomew can be seen holding bags of candies and chocolates and distributing them to children.

On Oct. 11, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was agreed to be independent of the Russian Orthodox Church during a meeting held at Fener Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul.