Vice-Premier discusses interfaith relations in Ukraine with Pat Bartholomew

Meeting of the Minister of National Unity at the Phanar. Photo: Press Service of the Ministry of National Unity

On May 21, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity Oleksii Chernyshov met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Phanar, according to the press service of the Ministry of National Unity. Judging by the photos, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon was also present at the meeting.

The statement noted that the parties discussed “ensuring mutual understanding and respect among all religious communities” in Ukraine.

“We are one people, defending not only our territory but also our values: freedom, dignity, and the right to be ourselves. Today, we must do everything possible to overcome the challenges facing the Church in Ukraine by promoting interfaith peace and unity,” Chernyshov assured Patriarch Bartholomew.

In response, the Ecumenical Patriarch “expressed his wish for a strengthened spirit of dialogue and mutual understanding at the heart of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.”

The statement does not mention whether the parties discussed the widespread seizures of UOC churches by representatives of the OCU.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the CIA officer who had previously alleged that a bribe was given to Patriarch Bartholomew for granting the OCU’s Tomos later retracted his statement.

Read also