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President at the Council of Churches: Our ability to unite lies in diversity

29.07.2015, 09:41

On the Day of Christianization of Kievan Rus’ – Ukraine and the 1000th anniversary of the repose of Grand Prince of Kyiv Volodymyr the Great, President Petro Poroshenko and his wife Maryna took part in the solemn meeting of the Nationwide Council of Churches and Religious Organizations "Law and Grace of the Ukrainian Land".

Addressing the attendees, the President urged the Ukrainian society to further preserve interfaith peace in the country. “Overcoming division in the Ukrainian Orthodoxy has become a matter of all believers. The government is glad if there is a progress in the unification process. At the same time, it is upset when someone’s ambitions move us away from the great purpose,” the President said.

“The lack of organizational unity should not be an obstacle to dialogue, mutual understanding and Eucharistic unification. Especially in conditions of the Patriotic War of the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression," Petro Poroshenko said.

According to the President, the uniqueness of Kyiv Christian tradition, Ukrainian multiconfessional space can be an example for many European states due to its tolerance. “I am grateful to the Nationwide Council of Churches and Religious Organizations for that. Our ability to unite lies in diversity. Our readiness to bravely counter Russian aggression is the best evidence of maturity and European identity of the Ukrainian nation,” the President said.

Petro Poroshenko urged representatives of all churches and confessions to pray for peace in Ukraine. “Two institutions enjoy the highest trust of Ukrainians today – army and church. It is the will of God who shows us how to defend the Homeland. I believe that the Lord is with us, with Ukraine,” the President noted.

The Head of State and his wife laid flowers to the monument of Volodymyr the Great. The event was also attended by Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Kyiv CSA Head Vitali Klitschko.