President Yanukovych forwarded a greeting address to Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate on his birthday.
"I respect you for your many years of relentless work for the cause of God and the good of the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate. Let the Lord help you in your service to the church and our people," reads the address published on April 22, 2010, by the presidential website.