UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE USA
CONSISTORY OFFICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

PRESS RELEASE

President of Ukraine: We are grateful to Ecumenical Patriarch for constantly supporting Ukraine

In the framework of the official visit to Turkey, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I.

The President expressed gratitude for a “great assistance the Ukrainian people receive from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I”. “I am grateful to the Patriarch for his constant care and prayer for Ukraine, its prosperity, peace on the Ukrainian land, constant assistance of the Mother Church to Ukraine,” the Head of State said at the briefing following the meeting.

“Of course, we were talking about the future of Ukraine, about peace, about single national Orthodox Church awaited by the Ukrainian nation,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized.

“We are confident that God will hear the prayers of the church. We are confident that peace and prosperity will come to Ukraine. I am grateful to His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I for a very important dialogue on the future of Ukraine,” Petro Poroshenko said.

In his turn, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I emphasized the importance of the Ukrainian President’s visit for mutual relations and expressed support for unity and peace in the whole world.

“I would like to expressed content and gratitude to the President for his visit. You know that the Church of Constantinople is the Mother Church of the Ukrainian nation. We feel a spiritual bond between the Church of Constantinople and Ukraine,” he noted.

“It is our duty to pray for peace and unity in Ukraine, Europe and the whole world,” the Patriarch noted.

The meeting took place at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey).

The President of Ukraine was accompanied by his wife Maryna Poroshenko.

Taken from the source: http://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/prezident-mi-vdyachni-vselenskomu-patriarhu-za-postijnu-pidt-36837