Russian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarch Kirill has said he highly appreciates the activity of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in the context of the improvement of relations between the church and state.
"As a politician he [Yanukovych] relies on the Orthodox creed," Patriarch Kirill told the Vesti-24 TV Channel at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra on Tuesday.
The patriarch said this was why he recently awarded the Ukrainian president with the highest order of the Russian Orthodox Church – the order of the first degree of the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Prince Volodymyr.
The patriarch noted that the granting of this award coincided with "an important anniversary" – Yanukovych’s 60th birthday – and said the president of Ukraine was "a person committed to religion" who "as befits a president, performs the task of spiritually educating his people."
"The Church appreciates these efforts of the Ukrainian president and I presented him with this order with feelings of full responsibility and deep satisfaction."
Partiarch Kirill also said he was "very satisfied with the level of dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities and the public" during his second pastoral visit to Ukraine. The patriarch said he was convinced that Ukrainian society "is entering a period of stability."
Kirill on July 27 told Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn that he "was happy to cross the threshold of the Rada, with which great changes in the life of modern Ukraine are connected."
"It is important to combine morality with legislative activity," Kirill said.
Lytvyn, in turn, thanked the patriarch for "strengthening the spirit of the people."
"I’m sure we should recognize the significance of the Church [in society] under our present conditions," he said.
