UGCC Head participates in the meeting of AUCCRO delegates with EU officials

On March 6, 2013 the delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO), including among them the UGCC Head His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), arrived in Brussels for a meeting with European Union officials.  Report was made by the Institute of Religious Freedom.

Trough this visit the delegation members hope to further friendly relations of Ukraine with the European counterpart, to present Ukraine’s experience in inter-religious agreements and cooperation, to discuss the issue of solidifying in society high moral principles and the freedom of  religious affiliation.  In the meetings of the heads of churches and plenipotentiary representatives of confessions with the officials of the European organization also participating was the diplomatic staff of the office of the Representative of Ukraine at the European Union.

On that day the delegation met with the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle.  During the meeting an animated discussion on the European prospects of Ukraine took place and raised issues regarding the various difficulties of the Euro-integration process.

The heads of the Ukrainian religions emphasized the importance of moral principles, necessary not only for the development of Ukrainian society but also for all of Europe.   They stated that they realize their responsibilities before God for strengthening high moral values for the sake of the coming generations, which translates into an appropriate public position in dialogues with authorities and the public.  From his side, Štefan Füle voiced his high regard for those spiritual and moral principles which the leaders of churches and religious organizations are imbedding in Ukraine.  He emphasized the uniqueness of Ukraine’s experience in inter-religious understanding that includes in it not only the peaceful co-existence of representatives of various religions but also becomes an example of successful inter-confessional collaboration.

According to the words of the Euro Commissioner, this positive experience which the religious community of Ukraine is developing is important not only for Europe but for the entire globalized world, which includes representatives of various nationalities, religious affiliations, worldviews, etc.  Both sides agreed to the necessity of a joint search for solutions to the issues that are intertwined with current social problems.  One of them is the demographic crisis in Europe.

The heads of confessions highlighted the spiritual and moral prerequisites of different types of social crises and urged multiplying goodness and counteracting evil. It is their contention that the religious segment is a significant element in building a civil society in Ukraine.   Members representing the Ukrainian delegation who offered their remarks during the meeting included: Archbishop Grigoris Buniatian, Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, Pastor Andrew Hamburg, Sheikh Ahmad Tamim.

In conclusion, Štefan Füle expressed his satisfaction with the dialogue results.  Participants of the meeting outlined their next steps for continued collaboration -- both in the European Union as well as in Ukraine.

The visit of the AUCCRO delegation to Brussels ended with an official reception attended by EU officials, Representative of Ukraine in the European Union Konstiantyn Elyseev, Euro Parliament deputy and head of the delegation in the Committee for Parliamentary Cooperation Ukraine – EU Pavlo Koval and representatives of diplomatic services, the Conference of European Churches, Apostolic Nunciature, Jewish organizations, community organizations and diaspora Ukrainians.  We note that the AUCCRO delegation had originally planned to visit Brussels back in March 2012.  However, at that time the planned visit did not take place, since the President of Ukraine called an urgent meeting with the confession heads.

UGCC Department of Information