On Saturday, August 21, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine met the third President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, at the residence of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The meeting was also attended by Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon and the Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod, Archimandrite Gregory.
The Ecumenical Patriarch shared his memories of his visit to Ukraine in July 2008 and noted that he did not forget Viktor Yushchenko’s concern at the time.
The former President of Ukraine expressed his gratitude and stressed that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew did a great job for the Ukrainian people by granting the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko also wished Metropolitan Epifaniy to have the strength to further build the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Lunch in honor of Ecumenical Patriarch at the Greek Embassy
The first day of the official visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine was completed with a dinner hosted by Ambassador Vassilios Bornovas in his honor at the Greek Embassy in Kyiv.
Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and all Ukraine also attended the dinner.
The Ambassador of Greece to Ukraine, Vassilios Bornovas, and the Ambassador of Cyprus to Ukraine, Louis Telemachos, addressed the guests.