The Head of the UGCC had a meeting with President Zelensky

Thursday, 29 April 2021, 15:03

On April 28, 2021, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed several important issues for Ukraine.

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The meeting with the Head of State was also attended by Metropolitan Epiphanij, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and Metropolitan Onufriy, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Mr. President informed the church leaders that a tripartite contact group was meeting at the same time regarding the resumption of the ceasefire and the exchange of hostages before Easter. The President asked the Primates, for their part, to support these initiatives.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav, on behalf of the UGCC and the AUCCRO, expressed absolute support for the ceasefire. The Primate recalled that the Council of Churches issued an appeal for the Easter armistice, in which it addressed all those with power and competence to stop the shelling.

The second topic was the celebration of Easter during the pandemic. According to Mr. Zelensky, despite a declining trend, there are fears that the fourth wave of the pandemic may occur after the holidays. Therefore, everything must be done so that the celebrations do not cause an outbreak of the disease.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that he had already addressed the faithful, asking them to work together to make this Easter joyful and not to worsen the epidemiological situation, so that no one would mourn their relatives later.

The Head of the UGCC added that people need holidays. "Pastoral care is not only the sprinkling of some objects with holy water, but also the accompaniment of people, helping them to survive these dramatic moments. That's why people need holidays, and we will try our best to make them safe," the Primate emphasized.

The third topic of the meeting was vaccination. The President asked Church leaders to support the process and explain to people the need for vaccination.

The parties further discussed the preparations for the 30th anniversary of Independence Day. Mr. Zelensky expressed hope that a joint prayer with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations would be held at St. Sophia Sobor. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is also invited to the celebration.

At the end of the meeting, the spiritual leader of the UGCC wished the President happy Easter.

The UGCC Department for Information