Head of DESS meets with Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic clergy in Berlin
This was reported on the official website of the DESS.
During the meeting, participants discussed spiritual care for Ukrainians living in Germany and the specifics of German law regarding church-state relations.
The Head of the DESS, Viktor Yelensky, addressed the religious situation in Ukraine and the challenges resulting from the full-scale Russian invasion. He highlighted the role of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which actively engages in public affairs and formulates positions on state-church relations, as well as pressing issues related to the country’s socio-political and cultural life and the spiritual and moral state of society.
Bishop Emmanuel provided a detailed outline of how religious organizations function as both public law corporations and public associations. The discussion also included potential ways to institutionalize religious communities formed by Ukrainians who practice Orthodoxy. Bishop Emmanuel talked about the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Germany, which is chaired by a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and can effectively convey the collective concerns of the Orthodox clergy and laity to the German government.
On the same day, a meeting took place at the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany between the Head of the DESS and representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches.
Yelensky informed the participants about the development of state-church relations in Ukraine, focusing specifically on Ukraine's Internal Resilience Plan presented by the President, which mentions the possibility of transitioning from a model of separation of church and state to a model of partnership between them.
Yelensky, along with Fr. Serhiy Dankiv, priest of the Apostolic Exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Germany and Scandinavia, and Fr. Oleh Kovalenko, protopresbyter of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Diaspora (Ecumenical Patriarchate), exchanged views on improving pastoral care for Ukrainians in Germany in the context of the ongoing Russian invasion.
