Head of Phanar meets with OCU delegation

The delegation of the OCU, headed by the head of the Donetsk Diocese of the OCU, Savva Fryziuk, visited Phanar to congratulate Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on his birthday. The meeting with the First Hierarch of the Church of Constantinople took place at his residence in Phanar in Istanbul, where the delegates expressed congratulations to the Patriarch on the occasion of the memorable date and conveyed words of sincere gratitude for the constant support of the OCU.

According to the official resource of the OCU, the visit took place on February 28, 2026. The delegation conveyed to Patriarch Bartholomew not only congratulations but also gifts on behalf of Epifaniy Dumenko.

The delegation, in addition to Sava Fryziuk, included Vitaliy Danychak and other supporters of the OCU. In addition to the solemn visit, on March 1, 2026, members of the OCU delegation took part in religious events on the occasion of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which took place at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Phanar.

Earlier, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople addressed the head of the OCU with an instruction to actively seek ways to bring the UOC hierarchs closer together through dialogue and the search for common ground to achieve unity. Seven years after the granting of the Tomos of autocephaly, the Patriarch emphasized the importance of efforts to achieve peace, condemned state interference in church affairs, and called for a rethinking of positions for the sake of general reconciliation.