President Petro Poroshenko has awarded Ecumenical Patriarch, Archbishop of Constantinople - New Rome His All-Holiness Bartholomew with the Order of Merit of the First Degree, the presidential press service has reported.

Poroshenko presented the award for the exceptional personal contribution of His All-Holiness to the development of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the rise of the authority of Orthodoxy in the world, the long-standing activity in asserting the ideals of spirituality, mercy and interfaith harmony.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, in turn, handed over to the Head of the Ukrainian State a memorable medal - the cross of Panagia Pammakaristos.