Czech Orthodox Archbishop Christopher Visits Transcarpathia

During his visit Archbishop Christopher conducted a number of meetings aimed at renewing religious and historical contacts between the Orthodox of Transcarpathia and the Czech Orthodox Church. One of the issues discussed during the meetings was the upcoming pilgrimage of Czech Orthodox believers to Orthodox monasteries in Transcarpathia. Visiting all the active monasteries of the UOC-MP in Transcarpathia was on the agenda of the archbishop’s visit to Ukraine. They agreed that the first pilgrimage of believers from the Czech Republic will take place on the feast of the Ascension. On 18 February 2002 Archbishop Christopher had a meeting with the governor of Transcarpathia, Henadii Moskal. They discussed issues of cooperation in the field of religion. The governor invited Archbishop Christopher to participate in the ceremony of unveiling a monument to the first president of the Czech Republic, T. G. Masaryk, who started his political career in Transcarpathia. The relationship between Orthodox believers in Transcarpathia and the Czech Republic dates back to the period between World Wars I and II, when Transcarpathia was a part of the former Czechoslovakia. Source: www.orthodox.org.ua