Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine was received by Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium and Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg on the afternoon of Sunday, 21 June, at the headquarters of the Metropolis in Brussels.
The Primate of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine is currently in the capital of Europe as a guest of COMECE (the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, together with other religious leaders, in order to address a conference organised on the current situation in Ukraine.
The Metropolitan was warmly welcomed at the entrance to the offices of the central administration of the Metropolis, venerated in the Metropolitan Chapel of Saint Marina, and met with Metropolitan Athenagoras and his associates in the Throne Room of the Metropolis, where gifts and good wishes were exchanged.
The Metropolitan of Belgium welcomed Metropolitan Epifaniy to the seat of the Metropolis and expressed his unwavering support for the Orthodox Church and the suffering people of Ukraine, praying for the swift end of the prolonged war. At the same time, he referred to the pastoral care being provided to Ukrainians in the Benelux countries through the establishment of parishes, as well as the ordination and reception of Ukrainian clergy into the local Church, and wished him every success in the purpose of his visit.
He warmly thanked Metropolitan Athenagoras for his welcome, for his support of the struggles and efforts of the Church of Ukraine to overcome the difficulties brought about by the war, and for the overall pastoral care extended by the Metropolis to the Ukrainian diaspora.
A dinner was subsequently offered in honour of the Metropolitan and his entourage.
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