11 Oct 2018 16:22

Ukrainian church leader meets with Poroshenko

MOSCOW. Oct 11 (Interfax) - Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine has met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's external relations department, Mykola Danylevych, told Interfax on Thursday.

"The meeting took place on Tuesday evening at the initiative of the head of state," Danylevych said, declining to elaborate.

He denied reports that the church leader fell ill at the meeting.

He also dismissed media reports that Onufriy recently traveled to Istanbul, ostensibly to meet with Patriarch Bartholomew.

On October 9, the Constantinople Synod began a meeting in Istanbul to consider, among other issues, granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.