President receives delegation of Ecumenical Patriarchate

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has received a delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which arrived in Ukraine to attend the liturgy and rite of the enthronement of the primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epiphanius, according to a statement posted on the website of the head of state.

It notes that the president thanked representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for participating in this outstanding event for church life, the Orthodox community, and for the Ukrainian state as a whole.

"I want to convey my warmest greetings and words of gratitude to His Holiness Ecumenical Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for this event. This happened and became possible due to his great love for Ukraine and Ukrainians," Poroshenko said.

He noted that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine had passed a long road to unification and receipt of a tomos (decree) of autocephaly, which was made possible also through the efforts of exarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

As was reported earlier, the ceremony of enthronement of Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epiphanius took place at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv on February 3.