Phanar head taken out of VR through courtyard after meeting with speaker

Head of Phanar and Dmitry Razumkov in the Verkhovna Rada’s courtyard. Photo: rada.gov.ua

On August 21, 2021, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople met with Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmitry Razumkov, after which he left the parliament building through the courtyard, the VR’s website reports.

During the meeting, Razumkov noted that Ukraine "continues to fight for the return of the temporarily occupied territories of our country," and "religion is one of those bases around which people can unite."

“We have always adhered to the policy of unification, looking for points of convergence and rejecting the policy of schism. I hope your visit will activate this process,” the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada noted.

After the meeting, Patriarch Bartholomew left the Verkhovna Rada in the same way as he arrived – through the courtyard, while the faithful of the UOC were waiting for him in front of the central entrance to the parliament building.

The photo posted on the Verkhovna Rada website shows that the head of Phanar and Dmitry Razumkov are saying goodbye in the courtyard of the Verkhovna Rada in front of the door with the number "VI" above the entrance.

The threshold of the door, probably for this particular occasion, was covered with a red carpet, and the organizers of the meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew and the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada hanged the national flag of Ukraine near the entrance.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the head of Phanar was brought to the Rada through the service gate.

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