On December 2, Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine met at his residence with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hellenic Republic to Ukraine, Pantelis Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos.
At the start of the meeting, the Primate of the OCU told the distinguished guest about the role of the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in the modern history of Ukraine and thanked the people and government of Greece for supporting the country amid Russia’s full-scale invasion, the OCU press service reports.
Also during the conversation, the parties discussed the European vector of Ukraine’s development, the church situation of the country, and the issue of dialogue with the Orthodox believers who have not yet followed the Tomos of autocephaly, the destructive ideology of the “Russian world”, which has been poisoning the consciousness of Ukrainians for over 30 years, and other issues of common interest.
In addition, the parties spoke of cooperation in the cultural and educational spheres, including of programs for internships for students of OCU educational facilities in Greece.
“Ukraine is currently going through a difficult time, but we are convinced that with God’s help we will achieve victory and a just peace. After all, the entire democratic world cannot lose to one bloody tyrant. We also see active efforts by the aggressor country to preserve its church structure in our state in order to continue to use it for its own purposes. However, it is our duty to prevent this and, despite provocations, to thoughtfully and consistently promote unity of Orthodox Ukrainians and the formation of our autocephalous Church,” said Metropolitan Epifaniy.
