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Only three Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchs attend meeting with president — media

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko EPA-EFE/JASON SZENES

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko

© EPA-EFE/JASON SZENES

KIEV, November 14. /TASS/. Only three out of 89 Ukrainian hierarchs decided to attend an unofficial meeting with the country’s President Pyotr Poroshenko late on Tuesday, Ukraine’s Vesti reported on Wednesday.

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Poroshenko to meet with Ukrainian Orthodox Church hierarchs in Kiev

The meeting took place on Tuesday evening behind closed doors and was guarded by members of the country’s national guard.

"Only three representatives of the church were present," Vesti said. "The head of state’s official website still makes no mention of the November 13 meeting."

Previous reports stated that Poroshenko was set to meet with the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra on Tuesday afternoon. The aim and agenda of the meeting were unknown. On Tuesday morning, a session of the UOC MP Synod took place, where its representatives discussed the situation concerning the attempts to establish an autocephalous church in Ukraine.

Poroshenko’s spokesman earlier said the president was ready to meet with the hierarchs at the Ukrainian House conference center in Kiev.

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