On February 9, the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, met with the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal. The meeting was held in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
This is reported by the UGCC Information Department.
The head of the Ukrainian government congratulated the head of the UGCC on the important decision of the church to switch to a new style for immovable holidays. According to him, society has support and a request for this step. He stressed that this is a step that "brings us closer to the civilized world."
Therefore, the parties discussed topical cooperation issues in the context of war. The Prime Minister thanked the Primate of the UGCC for his dedicated service to Ukraine and constant humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians who found themselves in challenging conditions.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that there is a long period of healing the wounds of the war of the Ukrainian people ahead and told Mr. Denys Shmygal that this is one of the priorities of the Ministry of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for the next decade. It was emphasized that cooperation between church and state will play an important role in this process.
In addition, the Head of the UGCC discussed with the prime minister the formation and development of the Institute of military chaplaincy in Ukraine and the importance of joint efforts in the international arena, mainly in relations with the Vatican.
The meeting was attended by: Fr. Oleksa Petriv, head of the Department of External Relations of the UGCC in Ukraine, and Viktor Yelensky, head of the state service for ethnic policy and freedom of conscience.