The Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate informs us:

On 11 October 2011, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel received, at the Patriarchal Residence His Excellency Mr. Markiyan Kulyk, Ukrainian Ambassador in Bucharest, at the end of his diplomatic mission in Romania.

Mr. Ambassador Markiyan Kulyk thanked for the audience given and mentioned the fact that during his diplomatic mission in Bucharest he learned that the relationship of friendship and co-operation between the two states can be also consolidated by strengthening the church relations between the two neighbour Orthodox peoples.

In this sense, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel underlined the important intensification of the co-operation and communion between the two peoples, Romanian and Ukrainian, around their common saints, for example Saint Hierarch Petru Movila and Pious Paisie from Neamt (Velicicovski). The Patriarch of Romania informed Mr. Ambassador that this year, 2011, a delegation of the Theological Academy of Kiev, headed by His Eminence Archbishop Antonie of Borispol will be in Bucharest on the occasion of the feast of Pious Dimitrios the New, the saint patron of the Patriarchal Cathedral (27 October). On this occasion, the delegation of “Patriarch Justinian” Theological Faculty of Bucharest will discuss the details of a protocol of co-operation to include, among other things, exchange of professors and students between the two schools of Orthodox theology.

During the meeting, Mr. Ambassador tackled the problem of the church situation in Ukraine. His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel expressed his hope to find durable solutions through dialogue for establishing the unity of the Orthodox Church in this country.