28 August 2001 Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma met with a delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople headed by Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia, secretary of the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The delegation came for the celebration of the 950th anniversary of the Kyivan Monastery of the Caves.
The press service of the Presidential Administration reports that the major topic of the discussion was the situation of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. In particular it was emphasized that it is necessary to continue the dialogue between the Churches regarding the restoration of unity in Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the creation of a single Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox mass media reacted negatively to the theme of the discussion. The Internet agency Radonezh was surprised that the issue of creating a single Orthodox Church in Ukraine was brought up, inasmuch as the agency considers the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarch to be that very single Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It considers other jurisdictions to be “schismatic assemblies.” (See Russian-language website at www.radonezh.orthodoxy.ru.)