Phanar's exarch in Ukraine, representatives of the OCU, RCC and Greek Catholics "prayed for unity" at the UGCC Cathedral in Kyiv
on January 24, 2026, an ecumenical religious event, the Prayer for Christian Unity, was held at the UGCC Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. The event was held as part of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity under the slogan “One Body. One Spirit. One Hope” (Ephesians 4, 4), brought together representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the OCU, the RCC, the UGCC, other Christian denominations, and even the Kyiv Jewish Messianic community. This was reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.
It is reported that the ecumenical prayer service was led by the head of the UGCC Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Together with him, the event was attended by the Apostolic Nuncio of the RCC in Ukraine Visvaldas Kulbokas and his assistants; Phanar’s exarch in Ukraine, Bishop Mykhailo Anishchenko of Komana; hierarch of the OCU Oleksandr Drabinko; hierarch of the Ukrainian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Markos Hovhannisyan; a representative of the Ukrainian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith, Pastor Valery Werner; a representative of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, Pastor Igor Shemygon; a representative of the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church, Pastor Oleg Gladkov; as well as representatives of the Kyiv Jewish Messianic Community and other members of religious organizations.
In addition, according to media reports, the event was also attended by Serhiy Bortnik, a professor at the Kyiv Theological Seminary and Academy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and an employee of the UOC DECR.
It is also worth noting that last year’s similar events were attended by a much smaller number of representatives of various Christian denominations in Ukraine. For example, at the Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024, there were no delegations from the OCU, the Armenian Church, or Protestant denominations. The representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine did not participate in the “prayer service” either. Thus, the conclusion is drawn about the growing influence of Catholicism in the country, which is actively promoted with the help of Ukrainian Greek Catholics.
Earlier, we reported that the Patriarchate of Constantinople organized an annual “Ecumenical Prayer” for Christian unity in Istanbul. The event, which took place on January 17, 2026, at the Cathedral of the Introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Honorable Community of Stavrodromi, brought together representatives of various Christian denominations and communities of the city, emphasizing the desire for unity in faith.
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