Ecumenical Patriarch exhorts Ukrainians to unity

April 15, 2014

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who holds a primacy of honor in Eastern Orthodoxy, issued a Palm Sunday message to civil and Church leaders in Ukraine.

“The Holy Mother and Great Church of Christ of Constantinople regards the Ukrainian nation and people as Her precious sons and daughters, born from the baptismal waters that flowed through the banks of the Dnepr River,” he said.

“This is why we take this opportunity, on the celebration of our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, to exhort all the pious Orthodox Christians of Ukraine that they maintain ‘the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,’” he continued. “The Kingdom of Christ is not of this world … We encourage you to place your faith in the words of the Psalmist: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’”

 

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Further information:

• Message By His All-Holiness to the Devout Ukrainian People on the occasion of the Triumphal Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the Holy City of Jerusalem (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople)