His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby
On December 1, 2022, in Kyiv, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the Head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
The event took place on the initiative of the Head of the Church of England as part of his three-day solidarity visit to Kyiv, which simultaneously became the first visit of the Head of this Church to independent Ukraine.
Laying out the purpose of his solidarity visit, the Archbishop of Canterbury emphasized that he came to the capital of Ukraine to listen to Ukrainians and hear their needs. He seeks to hear from the leaders and representatives of the Churches of Ukraine, refugees, internally displaced persons, and those who are under constant Russian bombardment and suffer from the harsh winter. It also seeks to familiarize with charitable organizations’ activities that can support Ukrainians in this hard time.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the spiritual leader of the Church of England for his solidarity with Ukraine and his words of support. The Head of the UGCC paid particular attention to the letter that the archbishop recently wrote to support our state.
The parties discussed the current situation in Ukraine, paying attention to pastoral challenges and needs.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav asked that the Christian academic environment of the Church of England and its universities try to objectively investigate the theological aspect of the “ruskiy mir” to determine how it corresponds to the Christian spirit.
The heads of the Churches brought up another critical issue concerning reconciliation between Ukraine and Russia. Referring to the theme of reconciliation in the light of Christ’s Gospel, particularly on the experience of reconciliation between German and French people, Germans and Poles, and a thirty-year way to reconcile Ukrainian and Polish people. The matter of reconciliation between Ukrainians and Russians was declared as one which is not for the right time since fundamental conditions had not been met, including the end of the war and the condemnation of the aggressor, without which it is impossible to establish justice.
“Ecumenical dialogue is of utmost importance today. It is needed at least for the entire ecumenical community to determine to what extent Russia’s actions correspond to the Christian spirit to warn against all dangers that undermine the foundations of Christianity in the future”, noted the Head of the UGCC and added that the ecumenical voice is now crucial for Ukraine and Christianity.
The UGCC Department for Information
