President Zelensky met with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations and congratulated them on the upcoming holidays – Christmas and Hanukkah.
Source: president.gov.ua
During the meeting, the Head of State thanked religious leaders for their constant support of the Ukrainian people.
“I want to thank you for being with the Ukrainian people, supporting people, praying for all of us. Pray every day for our soldiers – for those who are at the front, those who are wounded and those who, unfortunately, are not, as well as for civilian Ukrainians who work, live and study in the country,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President separately thanked the chaplains for their sacrificial work at the front and expressed hope for the further development of military chaplaincy.
Zelensky also emphasized the importance of the advocacy activities of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches Abroad, especially in the context of Russian propaganda, which uses the church to manipulate the consciousness of Ukrainians outside the country.
Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epifaniy expressed gratitude to the President for his assistance in adopting the law on the protection of spiritual independence. He emphasized the active role of the Council of Churches in countering Russian disinformation abroad.
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Sviatoslav, thanked Zelenskyy for taking into account the role of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches in the Internal Resilience Plan. He also called for joint activities of religious organizations and diplomatic missions to support Ukrainians abroad.
Other participants, including representatives of evangelical, Catholic, and Protestant churches, emphasized the importance of religious cooperation in promoting Ukraine’s interests in the international arena.
Among those present were:
- Bishops of the Orthodox, Greek Catholic, and Roman Catholic churches;
- representatives of Protestant and evangelical organizations;
- Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea Aider Rustemov;
- members of the Association of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of cooperation with religious organizations in times of war, as well as their role in supporting the morale of Ukrainians. The participants of the meeting noted the need for joint efforts to overcome the challenges caused by the war and to support Ukrainians both inside and outside the country.
