On October 20, 2025, as part of its visit to Norway, a delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) met with the Christian Council of Norway and took part in a prayer for peace in Ukraine. The events took place at the Lutheran Cathedral in Oslo.

During the meeting with the Christian Council of Norway, the UCCRO delegation informed Norwegian Christian leaders about the situation in Ukraine and the suffering endured by the Ukrainian people as a result of Russia’s military aggression; the role of Ukrainian churches and religious organizations during the war; and their efforts to provide humanitarian aid to those in need. The Ukrainian religious leaders expressed their gratitude to Norwegian churches and charitable foundations for their prayers, assistance, and support for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation emphasized the importance of longstanding interfaith cooperation within the framework of the UCCRO, which has significantly expanded since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In addition to traditional collaboration in promoting religious freedom and defending moral values, new areas of cooperation have emerged — such as humanitarian aid, international advocacy, chaplaincy, and healing the traumas of war.

The UCCRO delegation also spoke about the state of freedom of religion in Ukraine during wartime and about the religious persecution taking place in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine under Russian occupation. At the conclusion of the meeting, Norwegian and Ukrainian Christian leaders prayed together for an end to the war and for a just peace in Ukraine.

Earlier that day, the UCCRO delegation took part in a morning prayer at the Swedish Lutheran Church in Oslo, where prayers were offered for both Ukraine and Norway.

Members of the Council also visited the Norwegian Bible Society, where they learned about the organization’s history and its work in translating and distributing the Bible, including internationally. The Ukrainian delegation expressed gratitude to the Norwegian Bible Society for its long-term support of the Ukrainian Bible Society. The meeting highlighted the importance of translating the Bible into national languages, which, as history shows, stimulates the cultural development of a nation and a country. UCCRO members also noted that in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the Russian occupation authorities prohibit the use of the Ukrainian language and, consequently, the Ukrainian translation of the Bible.

In the evening, a prayer for peace was held at the Lutheran Cathedral in Oslo, during which prayers were offered for Ukraine, the Ukrainian people, the defenders of Ukraine, and the country’s recovery. His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, delivered a sermon (available via link).

The UCCRO delegation’s visit to Oslo was organized with the assistance and support of the Christian Council of Norway and the Norwegian Bible Society.

The UCCRO delegation included: 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 of the OCU; Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi of the Roman Catholic Church; Senior Bishop Anatoliy Kozachok of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church; Pastor Anatoliy Raichynets, Deputy General Secretary of the Ukrainian Bible Society; Oleksandr Zaiets, Chairman of the Institute for Religious Freedom; and UGCC priest Fr. Oleh Oleksa.