Head of SSEPFC Viktor Yelensky believes that the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox community can have a significant healing impact on church life during the war. He calls for meetings between the clergy of the OCU and UOC-MP and the overcoming of hostility between different church communities for the benefit of all believers.

Head of SSEPFC Viktor Yelensky calls for unity and overcoming differences between church communities

The Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnicity and Freedom of Conscience (SSEFC), Viktor Yelensky, emphasized that it is not surprising that many believers visit the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra not only because of its affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate, but also because of its historical significance. He also noted that unification processes may go unnoticed, but he hopes that the energy currently being expended on overcoming and clarifying the relations between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate will displace hostility and have a significant healing effect on the quality of church life. The Head of the SSEFC believes that meetings between the clergy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate can be drops that erode the stone of hostility, which seems immovable at present. Thus, during a time of war when people need spiritual support, unity, and peace, the Head of the SSEFC hopes for the unification and consolidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox community and the overcoming of differences between various church communities for the benefit of all believers.