Shmygal tells Phanar head about state financing of OCU

Meeting of Patriarch Bartholomew with the Ukrainian Prime Minister at Phanar. Photo: kmu.gov.ua

Ukraine provides full social and economic support to the OCU, a "reliable partner of state institutions". The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal stated this at a meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in Istanbul on November 30, 2020, according to the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

In a conversation with the head of Phanar, the Ukrainian Prime Minister thanked him "for granting the Tomos on autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and for supporting the process of its recognition by other Local Churches."

"The granting of the Tomos on autocephaly opened up new prospects for a more harmonious development of Christianity in the Ukrainian lands and full-fledged satisfaction of the spiritual needs of believers who belong to the Byzantine spiritual tradition," Shmygal said.

The Head of Government of Ukraine also stated that the OCU is a reliable partner of state institutions in matters of social and humanitarian service.

The state, he added, supports the "active social activity" of the OCU and "provides it with full social and economic support within legally justified and possible frames."

In conclusion, Shmygal stressed that the functioning of Phanar's stauropegia in Kyiv has become "an important factor in the development of religious processes in Ukraine" and expressed hope that Patriarch Bartholomew would come to Ukraine.

As reported by the UOJ, on November 30, the Ukrainian official delegation led by the Prime Minister of Ukraine 
Denis Shmygal took part in the celebrations of Phanar in Istanbul.

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