A traditional event that is held annually on Independence Day – “Blessing of Ukraine” has just taken place in Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, in which the heads of the main confessions of Ukraine, as well as President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, took part.

I would like to note that Patriarch Bartholomew was not present there. This was the position and condition of our Church, which I spoke about earlier in the previous comments. Namely, I told that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would not participate in the event in Sophia Cathedral if Patriarch Bartholomew was present. We brought this position to the attention of both the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which was the organizer of this event, and the state. We are grateful that we were heard.

Guests come and go, and we live here. And I want to live in inner peace and understanding.

Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanych), Administrator of the UOC