Ecumenical Patriarchate delegates meet with UGCC head

Meeting between the head of the UGCC and the delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Photo: UGCC

An ad hoc delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate met with the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Sviatoslav Shevchuk, according to the UGCC press service. During the meeting, issues of church unity and the relationship between the Church and the state in Ukraine were discussed.

It was reported that the meeting addressed key issues of inter-church dialogue at both global and local levels, as well as the role of the Church in the life of Ukrainian society. The head of the UGCC expressed concern about the potential secularization after the war. Sviatoslav Shevchuk also stated that the Ecumenical Patriarchate plays an important role in fostering the ability to dialogue between Christian communities. The report emphasizes that the meeting was an important step toward strengthening relations between the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and its Mother Church – the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

As previously reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which included Metropolitan Ilarion of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, Archbishop of Winnipeg, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, Patriarchal Deacon Epiphanios, and Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Ukraine, Bishop Michael. The meeting was also attended by the head of the State Service for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, and the Deputy Head of the President's Office, Olena Kovalivska.

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