Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) met with Pope Francis in Rome on Friday, Dec. 13.
The OCU Primate thanked the Pope on X “for humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression.”
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“We especially appreciate the Pope’s constant call to all believers to pray for peace for Ukraine,” he added.
During the conversation, Metropolitan Epifaniy also congratulated the pontiff on the 55th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, which took place on Dec. 13, 1969, and his upcoming birthday on Dec. 17.
Epifaniy also expressed gratitude for the personal assistance of Pope Francis in the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war and the return to Ukraine of children deported by the Russian authorities.
In Rome, prayers for Ukraine will be offered at the Church of St. Theodore, as well as in Bari, in southern Italy, at the Basilica of St. Nicholas, a site revered by the Orthodox faithful because of the saint’s holy relics housed there.
The Metropolitan expressed his faith that “the intercession of the saints and the prayers of millions of believers around the world will bring closer the time of truth’s victory and blessed peace on our [Ukrainian] land!”
Since the full-scale invasion began, Pope Francis has come under harsh criticism for his apparent reluctance to explicitly call out Russia and Putin as the cause of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The Pope has been accused of perpetuating a position of moral equivalence, suggesting that Moscow had been provoked into war by NATO “barking at the gates.”
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