During his visit to Ukraine, Head of the Russian Orthodox Chirch Patriarch Kirill will not meet Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, as according to the president's schedule, he will be absent from the capital at that time, Director for Affairs of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Head of the commission for official visit by Patriarch Kirill to Ukraine, Archpriest of Bila Tserkva and Bohuslav Mytrophan said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.
He also said that the patriarch would meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.
"We tackled the issue of a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and [President] Yanukovych, but according to the schedule, the president will be absent from Kyiv at that time, which is why Patriarch Kirill and [President] Viktor Yanukovych will not meet," Archpriest Mytrophan said.
According to him, visits by Patriarch Kirill to Ukraine lay the foundation for the future meetings and talks between representatives of different confessions and give evidence of his support for the unification of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
Archpriest also noted that the patriarch’s visit is pastoral and not political, and that the program of the visit is evidence of this.
Commenting on the possibility of protests against the patriarch’s visit to Ukraine, Archpriest Mytrophan said this "is a manifestation of democratic transformations in our society."
