"Course on the diaspora": the head of the UGCC discussed with the deputy head of the Office of the President the activities of the organization abroad

on May 7, 2026, the head of the organization, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, met with the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Olena Kovalska, at the Patriarchal Center of the UGCC. The parties discussed the humanitarian and diplomatic mission of the UGCC abroad, as well as «issues of preserving the national identity of Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homeland because of the war.»

According to the official information resource of the UGCC, at the beginning of the meeting Olena Kovalska handed Sviatoslav Shevchuk a congratulatory letter from the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on the occasion of his birthday. During the conversation Shevchuk emphasized that today the UGCC has about a thousand parishes outside of Ukraine, which have become centers of «popular and spiritual diplomacy», bringing to the world «the truth about the suffering and struggle of the Ukrainian people».

Special attention was paid to the role of church communities in preserving Ukrainian identity. According to the head of the UGCC, many parishes have schools where children study their native language and history. Shevchuk noted the importance of maintaining the connection of the diaspora with Ukraine, so that after the establishment of a just peace, citizens would return to rebuild the state. As an example, he cited Israel’s international experience in strengthening ties with the diaspora through state programs.

We shall remind you that earlier Sviatoslav Shevchuk accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of attempts to «form a community loyal to Russia» among Ukrainian migrants in Germany. According to Shevchuk, the church is being assisted by pro-Russian oligarchs in implementing such a plan.