You're reading: Patriarch Kirill calls on Ukraine to conform around Holy Rus’ ideals

Ukraine's prosperity hinges on its return to the Kyivan Rus' spiritual roots, says Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

"For Ukraine to be strong, it should consolidate around the principal values on which the life of the entire Holy Rus was based, including today’s Ukraine – from St. Vladimir’s Christianization to the present day," Patriarch Kirill said, following a liturgy service he conducted on Theater Square in Luhansk, Ukraine.

It is important for the "Church to overcome the separation, so that the Orthodox Ukrainian people gather again around one chalice," he said.

The patriarch said he is praying for Ukraine’s prosperity, for its leadership, and for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church leader, Metropolitan Volodymyr, who could not visit Luhansk because of illness.