Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk visits “political Berlin”

On Friday, February 17, His Beatitude Sviatoslav visited “political Berlin.” The first stage of the visit was a meeting at the Federal Office of the Chancellor of Germany. Then the Primate of the UGCC visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and finally visited the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. In conversations with senior officials, Patriarch Sviatoslav analyzed the current political, economic, religious and sociopolitical situation in Ukraine. In a special way he explained Ukraine’s current policy on churches and confirmed the wish of many Ukrainians for the president and government to equally treat the various Christian churches in the state. Much attention was also devoted to the preservation of religious peace between the denominations, their mutual respect and cooperation for the benefit of the society. The head of the UGCC explained his position on the state’s intervention in church policy by changing the owner of the historical and architectural monuments of Ukraine and national symbols of religious life – St. Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv Cave Monastery, and Pochayiv Monastery. German politicians expressed their concern over these developments in policy against religious communities. In the future both sides agreed to cooperate and coordinate cooperation. In addition, Patriarch Sviatoslav found support from the federal agencies on issues of migration in Europe. “A positive attitude and the desire for productive cooperation have been and remain the basis of relations between the church and government of Germany. The purpose of this cooperation is the formation of a nationally conscious and politically mature society,” said the head of the UGCC.  

UGCC Information Department