Shevchuk tells Budanov of UGCC’s “state-building role”
The head of the Uniates told the head of the Presidential Office that his Church was ready to partner with the state and presented him with a book on the work of special services in the Church.
On March 11, 2026, a meeting took place at the Patriarchal Center in Kyiv between UGCC head Sviatoslav Shevchuk and Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the denomination’s official website reports. The sides discussed state-church relations and the mission of religious organizations in wartime.
Shevchuk stressed the political ambitions of his structure, underscoring what he described as its exceptional importance for Ukrainian statehood. “Throughout every period of the history of the Ukrainian people, the UGCC has been a Church of statehood and state-building, but it has never been a state Church,” the UGCC head said. He also reminded Budanov of the confession’s persecution in the USSR, claiming that during that period the Uniate underground became “one of the largest forms of public opposition” to the communist regime.
During the conversation, Shevchuk sought to reinforce the significance of his structure by citing polling data from the Razumkov Center, which many experts view with skepticism.
At the end of the meeting, Sviatoslav Shevchuk presented Kyrylo Budanov with several symbolic gifts. Among them was a historical study “on the activity of Soviet special services in the church sphere,” as well as a commemorative medal marking the return of the seat of the UGCC head from Lviv to Kyiv. The UGCC leader assured the official of the Church’s full “readiness to develop partnership relations with the state.”
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the head of the UGCC had highlighted the chief rabbi’s contribution to strengthening Ukrainians’ faith.
