Head of UGCC meets with Patriarch of Constantinople

On October 25, 2024, the head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, paid a visit to Phanar, where he met with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. The parties discussed a number of topics, including the legislative ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Shevchuk thanked the head of Phanar for supporting Ukraine in this matter. This is reported by the press service of the UGCC.

“During the conversation, the head of the UGCC presented to the Ecumenical Patriarch the Message of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in Ukraine on war and just peace in the context of new ideologies, explained the genesis of the murderous ideology of the “Russian world” and its danger to the Christian world at the global level. His Beatitude Sviatoslav pointed out the “genocidal nature of the Russian World ideology, the criminality of which is experienced by millions of Ukrainians.” The parties discussed the situation in Ukraine, in particular the legislative steps of the Ukrainian state to protect the religious environment of Ukraine from the militarization of religion by the aggressor country,” – the press release reads.

We recently reported that a poll conducted by the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences in conjunction with the Association of Political Psychologists of Ukraine indicated that supporters of the UGCC and the OCU were most interested in banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In addition, according to sociologists, more than 70% of Ukrainians supported the law banning the UOC.