There is such a tradition: if the Pope visits an Orthodox country, then he certainly coordinates this with the church that is dominant in this state. The dominant one in the Ukrainian state is the OCU. This was stated by the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko in an interview with Radio Liberty.
“This is her (OCU, – ed.) Canonical territory, so we expect that if the Pope really decides … Although we also spoke for three years about the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch, this did not happen immediately. There was a statement initially, the patriarch said, that he will come, he is ready, but it takes time. This time has come and, I think, the time will come when the Pope will also visit Ukraine, “the head of the OCU added.
So far, Epiphanius pointed out that the OCU has not yet received any messages regarding the approval of the pontiff’s visit, the website writes.