You're reading: Patriarch of Jerusalem holds service in Kyiv Pechersk Lavra

Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III visited on Monday the Holy Dormition Church in Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, where together with Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) he held a public prayer.

"Thank you for your paternal love while taking pilgrims who visit the holy city of Jerusalem and other sacred places of the East," Metropolitan Volodymyr told Patriarch Theophilos III, according to the Web site of the UOC (MP).

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, who participated in an interfaith conference in Kyiv, said at a press briefing that the leadership of the Orthodox Church supports the unity of Orthodoxy worldwide.

"Our efforts have been and will be focused on maintaining the unity of the Church, not only in Ukraine but also the unity of Orthodoxy in general," Patriarch Theophilos III has said.