On October 21, 2025, a delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) met with His Majesty King Harald V and Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway. The audience took place at the Royal Palace in Oslo.
During the audience, Ukrainian religious leaders shared heartfelt testimonies about the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people and their defenders in the war for freedom and independence.
The members of the UCCRO emphasized the importance of Norway’s assistance to Ukraine in repelling Russian aggression, achieving a just peace, and securing the return of abducted Ukrainian children and prisoners of war.
Among the various issues discussed were accounts of Russian crimes in the occupied territories, the abduction and indoctrination of Ukrainian children in the ideology of the so-called “Russian world,” as well as crimes against freedom of religion and the destruction of churches and places of worship caused by Russian shelling. At the same time, all members of the delegation testified to the unity of the Ukrainian religious community in defending the country, highlighting the extensive humanitarian work of the Churches and religious organizations and their active engagement in chaplaincy service.
On behalf of the Ukrainian people, the UCCRO delegation expressed gratitude to the people of Norway, represented by His Majesty King Harald V, for their steadfast support of Ukraine. They presented His Majesty with a symbolic painting depicting Jesus Christ praying against the backdrop of the horrors of Russian terrorist attacks—the Kramatorsk railway station and Ukrainian families killed in their cities—accompanied by the biblical verse: “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.” (The Bible, Gospel of John 17:15)
The painting was created on wooden ammunition boxes that had been sent to Ukraine as part of Norway’s military aid.
Their Majesties the King and Queen shared that, as children, they themselves had experienced occupation and exile. Although they do not personally remember the Nazi occupation of Norway, they vividly recall their time in exile and the overwhelming joy they felt when Norway was finally liberated. Their Majesties wished the Ukrainian people a swift victory and the great joy of freedom and restoration.
As a reminder, the UCCRO delegation visiting Norway includes: Valerii Antoniuk, Head of the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christian Baptists and head of the delegation; His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the UGCC; Metropolitan Yevstratiy (Zoria) of Bila Tserkva, Orthodox Church of Ukraine; Bishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi of the Roman Catholic Church; Senior Bishop Anatoliy Kozachok of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church; Pastor Anatoliy Raychynets, Deputy General Secretary of the Ukrainian Bible Society; Oleksandr Zaiets, Chairman of the Institute for Religious Freedom; and Fr. Oleh Oleksa of the UGCC.