Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epifaniy during his visit to the United States was received by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The discussed violations of religious freedoms in Donbas and Crimea – the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
"I met with the U.S. Secretary of State," Epifaniy wrote on Twitter. "We discussed the challenges that the OCU is facing. Among them is a disgraceful situation of religious freedom in the occupied Donbas and annexed Crimea," the top cleric wrote.
Зустрівся з Держсекретарем США @SecPompeo. Обговорили виклики, з якими стикається ПЦУ. Серед них – ганебна ситуація зі свободою віросповідання на окупованому Донбасі і в анексованому Криму. Сподіваюсь, Вашингтон і надалі залишатиметься незламним у підтримці суверенітету України. pic.twitter.com/Kdl4Al7iVp
— Митрополит Епіфаній (@Epifaniy) October 23, 2019
Epifaniy added he hopes that Washington will continue its unwavering support of Ukraine's sovereignty.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has decided to recognize the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Earlier, the United States Embassy in Kyiv said they were concerned by media reports of looting at the only cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in the Russia-occupied city of Simferopol.
