Not only the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) but also other Christians in Ukraine are surprised that the government has not made public the program to mark the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus, the head of the UGCC, Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, said today at a press conference.
“Although the president met with us, encouraged us to participate actively, he has not released the state program of celebrations marking the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism,” said the head of the UGCC.
“Last year all the churches expressed their desire to have a common prayer for Ukraine at the time of the Baptism. Yet we see that this is also not yet planned. The fact that the state celebrations will ‘blend’ with the celebrations that will start in Moscow is incomprehensible. This shows that a scenario that was developed in Soviet times, 25 years ago, is being implemented. We must not forget, however, that the Moscow Church is a subsidiary of the Kyivan Church. It is therefore logical to hold all central celebrations here, where 1025 years ago was the baptism,” said the patriarch.