Former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko attended the Divine Liturgy for the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Uniate Church.
At the end of the Holy Liturgy, the former President told the media that “it is very important to unite the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church”.
“The Church of Hagia Sophia in Rome is a symbol of independent Ukraine. This golden mosaic symbolizes the future of Ukraine and the people gathered here are seeking free Ukraine”, added Petro Poroshenko.
The former President also stated: “Today the Greek-Catholic Church plays a particularly important role in the unification of the state. It is especially important for me to have the unity of our Churches: I am here as an Orthodox, the majority of those present are Greek-Catholic, but we are together because we pray for Ukraine”.
At the same time, he emphasized that the Ukrainian Uniates also prayed for the granting of the Tomos of Autocephaly, underlining that “I am deeply convinced that when the Lord granted us the Tomos, these people had prayed for it and the Lord heard our prayers”.
Mr. Poroshenko also referred to his relation to the Head of the Ukrainian Uniate Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav, emphasizing: “The Lord has sent us very wise hierarchs – Patriarch Sviatoslav and Metropolitan Epiphanius. It is a pleasure to talk and communicate with each other and coordinate their actions”.
