Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations celebrates its 30th anniversary

This information was published on the UCCRO's website.

The commemorative events commenced with a solemn session of the UCCRO to mark the Council’s 30th anniversary. This session was chaired by Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine. At the beginning of the session, attendees observed a minute of silence in honor of Ukraine’s fallen defenders who fought against Russian aggression.

In their remarks, Metropolitan Epifaniy, Chair of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, and other Council members reflected on milestones in the creation, development, and activities of the UCCRO across various periods of modern Ukraine. They also discussed the future prospects for interfaith dialogue and cooperation within the country.

During the meeting, several officials addressed the UCCRO with welcoming remarks, including Olena Kovalska, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Viktor Yelenskyi, Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience; Ivan Verbytskyi, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine; Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights; and Denys Shmyhal, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Ukraine.

After the UCCRO's ceremonial session concluded, an official reception was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. During the event, speeches were made by UCCRO Chairman Metropolitan Epifaniy, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches Rev. Prof. Jerry Pillay from South Africa, and General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches Rev. Frank-Dieter Fischbach from Germany.

Additionally, a special postmark ceremony took place to commemorate this significant anniversary. The official portion of the reception concluded with the singing of Ukraine’s spiritual anthem, “Prayer for Ukraine.”