Patriarch Kirill Prays for Unity at St. Volodymyr's Hill

KYIV - On July 27, on the eve of commemoration of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Metropolitan Volodymyr performed a prayer service at St. Volodymyr's Hill for the wellbeing and preservation of the political and spiritual unity of Ukraine.

Praying at the service were the hierarchs of the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches, numerous clergy of the Kyiv Diocese, Kyiv residents, and guests of the city.

Among the high guests attending the prayer service were Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov, the head of the Supreme Council of Ukraine Volodymyr Lytvyn, and first deputy mayor of Kyiv Oleksandr Popov. Representatives of the Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic churches also attended the event.

In his address, the patriarch noted that he prayed for the unity of the Ukrainian people, overcoming of divisions, which, according to him, "were imposed for the sake of the short-term political benefit" and called all those who are not indifferent to pray for overcoming these divisions.

"All who love their country should care about overcoming the divide, changing the spiritual and moral climate, reducing the level of confrontation. I call all sides which are involved in the political, economic, social, and historiosophic conflicts to reduce the degree of boiling for the people to be able to find peace and realize their freedom in the world," he stressed.

According to the website of the visit, the patriarch thanked Metropolitan Volodymyr for the prayerful support. Also in his word Patriarch Kirill emphasized the importance of Prince Volodymyr's choice and its significance for the future generation and called those staying outside the church unity to return to the church fold.

The hierarchs laid flowers at the monument to Prince Volodymyr.