According to the press service of the Single Fatherland (Odesa), His Holiness Patriarch Aleksiy II of Moscow and All Russia plans to visit Ukraine towards the end of 2002. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church made a statement to this effect following his meeting in Moscow with Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn. In all likelihood, the Patriarch will visit Ukraine in November. Aleksiy II met with Volodymyr Lytvyn in the Patriarchal chambers of the Church of Christ the Redeemer as part of the Ukrainian speaker’s visit to Moscow. During their talk the Patriarch informed Mr. Lytvyn of the current interreligious situation in Ukraine. According to the Single Fatherland website, His Holiness is to visit Odesa and stay at the Holy Assumption Patriarchal Monastery housing the residence of Metropolitan Ahafanhel of Odesa and Izmail. The Odesa diocese has been long waiting to welcome His Holiness.
P.S. Russian Orthodox believers in Ukraine have been long waiting for Patriarch Aleksiy II to officially visit Ukraine, the Patriarch of Kyiv, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery of the Caves, and the residence of the Bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy on the premises of the Monastery of the Caves. There was talk of this in the wake of Pope’s pilgrimage to Ukraine. However, contrary to believers’ expectations His Holiness is to visit the Odesa diocese. The event is expected to pull all of the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The program of His Holiness’ sojourn in Ukraine has not been announced as yet. The Moscow Patriarch last visited Odesa in 1996 to meet with three high priests, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and Patriarchs of the Georgian and Russian Orthodox Churches.
