Pompeo Spoke To Newly-Elected Head Of Ukrainian Orthodox Church - State Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2018) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked over the telephone with newly-elected head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Epifaniy, expressing the United States' endorsement for religious freedom and Ukrainian sovereignty, the Department of State said in a press release.

"Secretary Michael R.

Pompeo spoke on the phone with newly-elected head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Metropolitan Epifaniy today to underscore US support for religious freedom and Ukrainian sovereignty," the release said on Tuesday. "The Secretary encouraged respect for all Ukrainians' ability to worship as they choose."

The Russian Orthodox Church said the canonical meaning of the "council" in Kiev was insignificant, and the possibility of recognizing Epiphany in the Orthodox world was a task "hardly possible to fulfill."