On April 8, 2025, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine, Ms. Natalka Cmoc, at his residence in Kyiv.
This was reported by the UGCC Department for Information.
During the meeting, they discussed the pressing challenges facing the Ukrainian and Canadian peoples amid war and global shifts, as well as the development of state-civic partnerships and other matters of mutual interest.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav shared with the Ambassador his impressions of a recent pastoral tour to Canada with the bishops of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC. The visit coincided with a period of global upheaval — the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the first foreign policy steps by the new U. S. President, and the start of Canada’s own electoral campaign.
The Head of the UGCC emphasized that Ukraine is at the epicenter of global change: “While global trends are shifting in another direction, Ukrainians are going against the current, saying: ‘No to colonization! No to totalitarianism!’ And despite everything, they continue to fight. It happened in 1991, 2014, and 2022. Today, many countries hope Ukraine will endure this struggle — only then can democracy prevail. That’s why Canada so strongly hopes Ukraine will survive — and with it, democracy in Canada.”
Special attention was given to developing state-civic partnerships in Ukraine — especially collaboration between state institutions and civil society, of which the Church and other religious organizations are key parts.