The program of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's stay will be very intensive and will include events of both ecclesiastical and state-related kind.
This was stated in Ivano-Frankivsk by the Primate of the OCU Epifaniy.
"This year we expect the arrival of His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the restoration of our independence. At the invitation of the state and the Ukrainian Church, a state-church visit will take place during the days of celebrating the declaration of independence of Ukraine," he said.
According to Epifaniy, Patriarch Bartholomew will take part in both state-level and church events.
"We will serve a joint Liturgy and he will have a meeting with the heads of state. Also with representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, the public, and young people. It is known that the patriarch is called the "Green Patriarch", so he will take part in events dedicated to preserving the environment. Now such a more dense program of his visit is being formed. Of course, communication with journalists is also expected," the head of the OCU said.
As RiISU has reported, the OCU is already organizing the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Moscow Patriarchate maintains a negative attitude towards the expected visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Ukraine and notes that their parishioners will publicly oppose him.
The UOC-MP is afraid that after the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch to Ukraine, the churches of the Moscow church will be transferred to the local Church of Ukraine.
As reported, the majority of Ukrainians – 57% – are positive about the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to Ukraine. Another 32.5% have a neutral attitude and only 6% treat the visit negatively.
This is evidenced by the results of the KIIS survey.
Among the supporters of certain faiths, most of those who have a positive attitude to this visit are among the supporters of the OCU and the UGCC (72% and 63%, respectively).
At the same time, among the supporters of the UOC-MP, 49% have a positive attitude to the visit of the patriarch of Constantinople, while only 15% have a negative one.