President Viktor Yanukovych sent his Christmas greetings only to Orthodox believers. In his congratulation disseminated by his press service, Yanukovych says, “I am happy that these moments we, together with the rest of the Orthodox world, are glorifying God’s child and looking with hope and love toward the prospects of the new year."
Meanwhile, Yanukvych failed to congratulate the 5 million Greek Catholics who also celebrate Christmas on the same day as the Orthodox.
There was no official response from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Radio Svoboda notes.
However, a UGCC priest, Father Mykhailo, believes Yanukovych's greetings can hurt many Ukrainians.
“Our president often forgets about other categories of his subjects, and not merely believers. We can come across such forgetfulness in his declarations and actions. It is very humiliating. As regards the Greek Catholics, we’ve seen a lot of humiliations,” he says.
“Such steps do not promote peace among Ukrainians. The president should be the center of peacemaking. Possibly, he may not be aware of this duty, possibly, this is done deliberately,” Father Mykhailo says.