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.
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