Patriarch Sviatoslav Separates Politics From Process of Establishing One National Church

One national church cannot be a political project, implemented at the initiative of a politician, His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said in an interview to Fakty.

He said the union should proceed from the inner intention of the churches. "For us, for example, it is important that we, representatives of diffirent faiths, may celebrate the liturgy at one altar. This is a manifestation of a high union! " said Patriarch Sviatoslav.

In this interview, the patriarch was asked about the frequent visits of Patriarch Kirill to Ukraine. "Patriarch Kirill has every right to visit his flock in Ukraine," said the head of the UGCC. But he said that a meeting with Patriarch of Moscow is not currently scheduled. "But I personally met with His Beatitude Volodymyr (Sabodan) and his assistants. For us, this meeting was extremely important for finding mutual understanding, " said Patriarch Sviatoslav.

We recall that Metropolitan Hilarion, in the interview that was published on October 5 in the newspaper Izvestia, also discussed the possibility of meeting with the head of the UGCC. "I hope to meet him in the near future," said Metropolitan Hilarion. The hierarch also expressed hope that with the appointment of the new head of the UGCC, positive changes in the relations between the two churches will be made, the UGCC website reported.