Yushchenko asks Patriarch Bartholomew to bless establishment of unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church

26 July 2008, 15:40



Kiev, July 26, Interfax - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has asked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to bless the establishment of a unified local Orthodox church during celebrations of the 1020th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus on Saturday.



"I am asking a blessing from your holiness, a blessing for a dream, for the truth, for a hope, for our state, for Ukraine," Yushchenko said addressing Patriarch Bartholomew.



"I believe that any divisions between Ukrainian believers are temporary. I believe that we will see our dream come true. I believe that a local national church will appear in Ukraine as God's gift and as historical truth," he said.



Yushchenko said he would always support the unification of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.



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