Ecumenical Patriarch, Archbishop of the Constantinople Orthodox Church Bartholomew I has arrived in Ukraine to take part in events marking the 1020th anniversary of the conversion of Kyiv Rus into Christianity.
President Viktor Yuschenko is taking part in the welcoming ceremony at Boryspil international airport outside Kyiv.
After the welcoming ceremony Yuschenko and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will visit Kyiv Pecherska Lavra and lay flowers at monuments of Princess Olga, St. Prince Volodymyr, Saint Apostle Andrew, Cyril and Methodius.
Yuschenko and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I are also scheduled to meet with heads of delegations of foreign churches.
Bartholomew I will hold an evening service in the St. Sophia Cathedral on the occasion of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kyiv Rus, and consecrate bells and Holy gates. President Yuschenko is due to attend the service.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, representatives of 17 foreign churches are to take part in celebrations of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kyiv Rus to be held in Kyiv on July 25-27.
On July 16, the Ukrainian People's Party asked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to facilitate the merger of Ukrainian Orthodox churches into a untied Ukrainian local Orthodox church.
