AUCCIRO to take part in activities on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared as a result of Russian aggression

23.07.2020, 10:37
Interconfessional
Heads and representatives of faiths supported the initiative of the Red Cross International Committee to hold activities aimed at helping families who lost their loved ones in Eastern Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression and drawing public attention to the problem of missing persons.

This issue was discussed at a meeting of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which took place on July 22 in Kyiv. Consideration of issues on the agenda began with a minute of silence, by which members of the AUCCIRO paid tribute to the memory of the Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church, Vasyl Raychynets, according to the Institute for Religious Freedom.

AUCCIRO to take part in activities on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared as a result of Russian aggression - фото 53964
Events on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared are planned for August 30, 2020.
Metropolitan Epifaniy, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, stressed:

“We should support the initiative to hold an event of our Council on the International Day of the Disappeared. As for the relatives and friends of such people, prayer and hope for God's help are extremely important. I have met with such families and seen how they need spiritual support.”

The AUCCIRO also discussed the initiative to create a new library of St Sofia (the Wisdom) and expressed its support for this project.

The participants of the meeting decided to appeal again to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Razumkov, to resume the dialogue and establish permanent interaction of the Parliament with the AUCCIRO. It should be noted that during the first year of the Verkhovna Rada of the IX convocation, there were no meetings between the leadership of the Parliament and the AUCCIRO.

AUCCIRO to take part in activities on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared as a result of Russian aggression - фото 53967
Another topic of discussion during the meeting was the problem of countering domestic violence. In particular, members of the AUCCIRO have got better acquainted with the project of the Institute for Religious Freedom, in which representatives of churches and religious organizations will develop a joint communication strategy aimed at preventing violence at the domestic level. Along with this, religious figures still have comments on the so-called Istanbul Convention, given its ideological bias.
The heads of faiths also analyzed the results of the work of the AUCCIRO Commission on social service, which was presented by its Executive Secretary, Fr Serhiy Dmitriev. They planned several joint events in the nearest future.
Metropolitan Epifaniy, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, became the new Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations.
According to regulations of the AUCCIRO, rotation of the Council Chair is carried out every six months according to the order of the list of the Board members.