The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, arrived this morning at Boryspil airport, in Kiev, on the invitation of the Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko to attend the celebrations for the 1020th anniversary of the Christianisation of Kiev. The president, who received him at the airport - according to a presidential release -, thanked Patriarch Bartholomew for the efforts he is making to "spread spiritual values in the world". On his part, Patriarch Bartholomew thanked Yushchenko for his invitation to attend the celebrations. Then, the first words uttered by Bartholomew I on Ukrainian soil spoke of the unity of Christians in a land in which the two Orthodox churches of the country, one led by Patriarch Filaret of Kiev, the other related to the Patriarchate of Moscow, have some problems living together. "We are here - said Bartholomew I, who is at the head of a delegation - to pray for the union of all the Christians of Ukraine. We are here as angels of peace who long for unity". Two days ago, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is under the same jurisdiction as the Patriarchate of Moscow, had convened a Holy Synod for a special session which was also attended by the metropolitan bishop Kirill of Smolensk. On that occasion, the Holy Synod sent a letter to the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew. "We hope the great anniversary of our Church and our people is especially the feast of Orthodox unity". "For over 15 years - goes on the letter -, the painful wound of the schism has afflicted our Church. This rift in the Church of Ukraine needs to be healed". But this process - adds the Holy Synod - "demands wisdom and pastoral caution from us" and above all it requires - and this is the appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew - that any "interference in the internal affairs of our Church" be avoided. In the meantime, the other big protagonist of the Orthodox world will be arriving in Kiev tomorrow: Patriarch Alexius II, who, as well as attending the celebrations, will meet Patriarch Bartholomew in Kiev. "We are confident in this meeting - said the archpriest Nikolai Balashov, secretary of the department for the relations between the churches of the Patriarchate of Moscow, to the Russian agency Irar-Tass -. We would like the Kiev celebrations to help strengthen the unity of the Orthodox family. We believe that the divisions within the Church that exist in Ukraine can be successfully overcome by Orthodox solidarity".

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