Ukrainian premier notes deflation in first ten days of July

UKRINFORMs photo

Ukraine is preparing to mark the 1020th anniversary of the conversion of the Kyiv Rus to Christianity at the state level. Events initiated by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko will take place in Kyiv on July 24-27.

"The president believes that the marking of this date should become an impetus to the unification of the Ukrainian community and all Orthodox churches," Presidential Secretariat Deputy Head Yuriy Bohutsky said at a briefing on Wednesday.

On July 25, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will arrive in Kyiv to hold an evening service at Sofia Cathedral, involving the leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and delegations of local Orthodox churches.

Festive events will take place on Sofiyska Square. The Ukrainian president and the Ecumenical Patriarch are expected to address the Ukrainian people and pilgrims. Following the event, Yushchenko, Bartholomew I, hierarchs from the world's Orthodox churches, as well as top-ranking foreign and national guests will leave for Mykhailivska Square to lay flowers at the monument to the victims of the Famine of 1932-1933. The Ecumenical Patriarch will hold a requiem for famine victims.

This day, high-ranking officials will also go to the Ukrainian House to take part in the opening of the gallery of portraits of prominent historical figures who made a significant contribution to the development of Ukraine and its formation as a state.

On July 27, a liturgy will be offered near the Monument to St. Volodymyr. "It will be a particular liturgy. The Ecumenical and Moscow Patriarchates agreed that Bartholomew I would hold a church service. The service will also be held by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow who will arrive in Ukraine on July 26 and the leaders of local Orthodox churches," Bohutsky said. He said that 15 leaders of local Orthodox churches had accepted an invitation from Yushchenko to participate in the events.

"We hope that Kyiv will become the scene where the Ecumenical and Moscow patriarchs, after certain discrepancies, will meet and discuss church problems. We can guess and hope that the issue of the Ukrainian church will be topical in their dialogue," Bohutsky said, adding that the state and the organizational committee on preparations for marking the 1020th anniversary of the conversion of the Kyiv Rus to Christianity would not interfere in this process.

UKRINFORM