UOC Chancellor meets with Patriarch Ilia of Georgia

On June 7, 2021, with the blessing of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the UOC Chancellor, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary, met in Tbilisi with His Holiness Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia. This was reported by the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC.

Metropolitan Anthony was accompanied by the Deputy Head of the UOC DECR, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich. The meeting was also attended by the clerics of the UOC, Protodeacon Vadim Novinsky and Protodeacon Alexei Pertin.

From the Georgian side, the meeting was attended by the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri), Metropolitan Gerasim (Sharashenidze) of Zugdidi and Tsaish, Metropolitan Andrey (Gvazava) of Akhaltsikhe and Tao-Klarzeoria, as well as employees of the Patriarchate of Georgia.

“During the meeting, which took place in a fraternal and warm atmosphere, Metropolitan Anthony informed the Patriarch of Georgia about the real state of affairs in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Ways of further cooperation between the Ukrainian and Georgian Orthodox Churches were discussed,” the UOC DECR reported.

Also, after meeting with Patriarch Ilia, the Chancellor of the UOC met separately with the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Shio.

Let us remind you that earlier the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal met with Patriarch Ilia of Georgia. According to the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Alexander Tkachenko, this meeting is crucial for the recognition of the OCU by the Georgian Church. Bishop Viktor (Kotsaba), Head of the Representation of the UOC to European International Organizations, reminded the officials that according to the Constitution, the Church in Ukraine is separated from the state, "which means that the Ukrainian government should not interfere in church affairs, no matter how important they seem to it."