Secretary Pompeo met on Wednesday Oct. 23 with His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Secretary Pompeo congratulated Metropolitan Epiphaniy on his receipt of the Athenagoras Human Rights Award for his defense of all Ukrainians’ ability to worship in accordance with their faith, free from external interference. The Secretary and the Metropolitan shared their concerns about abuses against religious freedom in Russia-occupied Crimea and Russia-controlled parts of the Donbas. They expressed their hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Russia-instigated conflict in eastern Ukraine, now in its sixth year, underscoring the need to heal the wounds of war and foster unity.
Pleasure meeting Metropolitan Epiphaniy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine today. Your defense of #religiousfreedom for all Ukrainians is commendable, and I’m glad to see you were honored with the Athenagoras Human Rights Award for it. Congratulations – well deserved! pic.twitter.com/Yi2ZQChwW1
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) 23 Οκτωβρίου 2019
- Source: state.gov