OCU awards yet another order to Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican

Clergy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine present an award to Andriy Yurash. Photo: Yurash's Facebook

The OCU has presented an award to Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican. Clerics of the structure delivered the Order of the Archangel Michael on behalf of Epifaniy Dumenko during a visit to the Ukrainian embassy. Yurash reported this on his Facebook page.

According to the ambassador, he received the award from a delegation from Kyiv led by OCU cleric Bohdan Huliamov. He noted that the day before, these delegates visited the city of Bari, where they were allowed to “serve” at the Basilica of St. Nicholas.

As the UOJ previously reported, the Vatican again granted the OCU access to the relics of St. Nicholas.

As a reminder, in previous years the Vatican has repeatedly provided the OCU with access to the papal basilica in Bari. In particular, a similar service took place there in December 2024 with the participation of the head of the OCU, and in May 2025, OCU clerics also performed a “liturgy” at the relics of St. Nicholas with the support of Andrii Yurash.

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