On May 21, 2024, the second working day of the visit to Brazil, the delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) held a series of meetings in Curitiba with government officials and religious leaders from various churches of the state of Paraná. 

In the morning, the UCCRO delegation met with the Vice Governor of Paraná, Darcy Piana. Representatives of Ukrainian churches told the vice governor about what Ukraine and the Ukrainian people are suffering because of Russian aggression, about Russia's crimes against civilians, the destruction of Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, and thanked the state government for hosting Ukrainian refugees. The UCCRO delegation asked Mr. Darcy Piana to inform the President of Brazil about the meeting with the UCCRO delegation and the issues raised. 

The members of the delegation presented to the Vice-Governor the report "The Impact of the Russian Invasion on Faith-based Communities in Ukraine" and told about specific cases of religious persecution, including those related to UGCC priests, Fr. Ivan Levytsky and Fr. Bohdan Heleta, who have been in prison for more than a year and a half.

In memory of the meeting, representatives of the Ukrainian side presented Vice Governor Darcy Piana with a painting depicting Jesus Christ praying for the preservation of human life (the painting was made from the boards of a weapons box brought from the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region) and a Ukrainian flag signed by Ukrainian children who had been returned from Russian captivity. The meeting was attended by Marcia Hatsulyak, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Paraná. 

In the first half of the day, the delegation of the Council of Churches met with representatives of various Christian churches at the First Baptist Church of Curitiba (the church counts more than 20,000 members). Ukrainian clergymen presented their Brazilian fellow believers videos showing the suffering of the Ukrainian people from Russian aggression and testifying to Russia's crimes against representatives of the religious community in Ukraine. UCCRO representatives spoke about Russian bombing and missile attacks on civilians and infrastructure and called on Brazilian churches to pray for a just peace for Ukraine.

Pastor Igor Bandura, Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Union of Christian Baptist Evangelical Churches noted in his speech:

“Brazilians pray as passionately as they support football. In serving others through prayer, they are generous, fervent, and sacrificial to the fullest extent. The initial meetings and services of the Council of Churches delegation demonstrated that evangelical Brazil is undoubtedly on the side of Ukraine. However, there is a lack of awareness about the situation in Ukraine due to the distorted picture created by the media. The visit of the UCCRO helped Brazilian churches receive accurate information so that they could consciously support Ukraine with their prayers."

The event at the Baptist Church ended with a prayer of the representatives of Brazilian churches for the Ukrainian delegation and Ukraine.

In the afternoon, the UCCRO delegation met with the President of the Legislative Assembly of Paraná, Ademar Traiano, and expressed gratitude for hosting Ukrainian refugees and for the fact that the Ukrainian flag, along with the flags of Brazil and Paraná, had been flying in front of the State Assembly building for over a year. Representatives of the Ukrainian churches asked Mr. Ademar Traiano to send a letter from the State Legislative Assembly to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, asking him to consider participating in the Peace Summit that will take place in Switzerland in June. 

After the meeting with the President of the Assembly, the UCCRO delegation has been invited to the plenary session of the Legislative Assembly of Paraná. Assemblymember Marcia Hatsulyak suggested that the Assembly members send a letter to the President of Brazil regarding participation in the Peace Summit.

In his speech at the plenary session of the State Assembly, Pastor Anatoliy Raychynets, representative of the UCCRO Chairman, said: 

“The courageous Ukrainian people have been fighting for their right to exist for two years and three months since the full-scale invasion. Every day we are paying a very high price in this struggle as we stand against a powerful force. The enemy acts like a cunning terrorist. Therefore, we need the support of the Brazilian people to defeat the evil that threatens all of humanity, as soon as possible.” 

On behalf of the UCCRO delegation, A. Raychynets presented the Legislative Assembly of Paraná with a Ukrainian flag signed by Ukrainian children.

As a result of the discussion, the State Assembly supported the initiative to send a letter from the Assembly to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva regarding the participation of Brazil in the Peace Summit in June.

At the end of the stay in Curitiba, the UCCRO delegation visited the regional office of the Brazilian Bible Society (BBS), where they had the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of the office at the regional level and to pray for Ukraine and Brazil together with their Brazilian colleagues. 

On the evening of May 21, 2024, the delegation of the Council of Churches arrived in Rio de Janeiro. 

Recall that the visit of the UCCRO delegation to Brazil is been held with the support of the Brazilian Bible Society.