Dumenko and Zoria arrive on a visit to Belgian Metropolis of Phanar
Dumenko and Zoria were received at the Phanar's Belgian Metropolis. Photo: Orthodoxia News Agency
On June 21, 2026, the head of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko, accompanied by his delegation, met with Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium at his residence in Brussels, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
The head of the OCU arrived in the Belgian capital at the invitation of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to participate in a conference on the situation in Ukraine.
In the Throne Room of the Metropolis, the parties exchanged gifts and discussed issues of cooperation in the Benelux region. Metropolitan Athenagoras expressed full solidarity with the OCU and spoke about the establishment of new parishes for Ukrainians under the omophorion of the Phanar.
The hierarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople also spoke about the practice of ordaining and "receiving" OCU clergy into the local Church. A joint dinner in honor of the guests concluded the official part of the reception in Brussels.
As the UOJ reported, Patriarch Bartholomew conveyed words of support to the Lavra brotherhood through Dumenko.
Read also
World Council of Churches condemns confiscation of evangelical church in Iran
Secretary General Jerry Pillay demanded the return of the St. Peter's Church complex to believers.
Poland repeals law recognizing same-sex unions concluded in the EU
The court ruled that the registration of foreign same-sex unions contradicts the article of the Constitution defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
The right hand of St. Basil the Great to visit Romania for the first time
The relic from Greece will be displayed in the cathedral of Alexandria to mark the 30th anniversary of the local diocese.
DESS expert tells US State Department reps about religious freedom in Ukraine
Andriy Smirnov held a meeting with staff of the US State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom.
Eight people killed in drone strike on monastery in Ethiopia
Two nuns and six priests were killed in the strike on the monastery; several more people were seriously injured.
Church commemorates St. Seraphim of Sarov
The venerable saint began his path of asceticism after a pilgrimage to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and prayer before the Caves saints.