The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) Metropolitan Volodymyr congratulated the newly elected Pope Francis, the official website of the UOC-MP informs.
"I sincerely congratulate you on your appointment to the Chair of the Bishop of Rome. Through the cardinals’ election, the Lord calls on you to perform the high service that will require all your pastoral experience and consecrated Christian love, because these two qualities are the key to devotional service to the people and to the worthy response to the challenges the modern world poses to Christianity,” says the metropolitan in his greeting.
“May our Lord Jesus Christ bless your pontificate with peace and joy, give you strength for the successful continuation of the work of your predecessors," wished the metropolitan.
Metropolitan Volodymyr hopes that relations between Catholics and Orthodox will be favorable: "I take this opportunity to express our hope for the further fruitful development of fraternal relations between our Holy Churches."