UCCRO Delegation Visits Greece to “Defend the Spiritual Unity of the Ukrainian People”

On April 29, 2025, a delegation from the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) visited the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero in New York City. The delegation was received by Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia, representing Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The purpose of the visit was to emphasize the need to preserve the spiritual unity of the Ukrainian people amid Russian aggression, according to Orthodox Times.

During the visit, the delegation attended a presentation by Protopresbyter Andreas Vithoulkas on the reconstruction of the shrine following its destruction on September 11, 2001. An official meeting with Bishop Nektarios also took place, during which the participants discussed the use of religion by Russia in its war against Ukraine. They stressed the importance of unity among Ukraine’s religious communities during wartime.

The delegation included representatives from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Roman Catholic Church (RCC), Evangelical Baptists, Pentecostals, and the Institute for Religious Freedom.

It is worth recalling that on April 22, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with UCCRO members at the Metropolitan House of the National Preserve “Saint Sophia of Kyiv.” The meeting focused on the role of religious institutions in supporting national spiritual health and preserving unity during wartime.