Zinkevych discusses "spiritual care" of Ukrainians with UA Amb. to Israel

Mikhail Zinkevych and Yevhen Korniychuk. Photo: pravoslaviavolyni.org.ua

On September 21, 2023, "Metropolitan" Mikhail Zinkevych of Lutsk and Volyn of the OCU visited the Embassy of Ukraine in Tel Aviv during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, reports the website of the Lutsk Eparchy of the OCU.

During the meeting with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel, Yevhen Kornyichuk, Zinkevych discussed the passport control process for pilgrims, the "spiritual care" of Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian assistance.

The leader of the Lutsk Eparchy of the OCU also presented a special Ukrainian flag to the diplomat.

It's worth noting that the provisions of the Tomos of the OCU prohibit the establishment of parishes outside Ukraine. All OCU believers outside Ukraine are expected to fall under the care of the clerics of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

As previously reported, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem initiated a meeting of Primates in Amman, dedicated to the schism in global Orthodoxy due to the granting of the Tomos to the OCU by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Subsequently, the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate sent an angry letter to Patriarch Theophilos, stating that the Amman meeting "undermines the foundations of the Orthodox Church".

Afterwards, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel said that he discussed the "development of the OCU" with Patriarch Theophilos, while the hierarch of the Jerusalem Patriarchate declared that only the UOC is recognized in the Holy Land.

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