“The Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Mother Church of All Orthodox in Ukraine is Always on Their Side”: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople

OCP News Service – 09/07/2023

Constantinople-Turkey: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople received President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Phanar, Constantinople on July 08, 2023.

Zelenskyy’s visit to EP started with a prayer service at St. George’s Cathedral followed by the official meeting. President began the meeting by updating the situation in Ukraine and thanked His All Holiness for his unwavering support, prayers for peace, and comprehensive assistance to Ukrainians.

President said “I want to thank His All Holiness. Today is an important day – our struggle has been going on for 500 days – since the full-scale invasion. We have the support of His All Holiness, prayers for our soldiers, for the nation, for our people, for life in Ukraine”.

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew noted the importance of achieving peace in Ukraine.

“The Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Mother Church of all Orthodox in Ukraine is always on their side,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said.

Complete statement from Ecumenical Patriarchate:

“We wished that peace would come soon, because war is a bad thing for everyone. We said that the Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Mother Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox is always on their side. We were happy because Mr. President of our country, Mr. Erdoğan, also supports the achievement of peace in Ukraine through dialogue, but also because he promised to help Turkey with all means for the reconstruction and restoration of things in Ukraine, after the end of the war. It is not the first time that we welcome Mr. Zelensky to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is always an honor and a pleasure for us to welcome him and I want to conclude by saying that we wish for the return of all the prisoners who are being held at this moment and especially for the return of the children who are far from their homes and their homeland. We thank the General Media for showing so much and genuine interest in the visit of Mr. President to the Seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We hope that when Mr. President comes to Turkey and to our Patriarchate again, that peace will have prevailed, that peace will have returned [to Ukraine]”.

Source:
OCP News Service