On September 24, 2026, a meeting of the Secretariat of the Council of Christian Churches of Ukraine (CCCU) was held in Kyiv under the chairmanship of Anatoliy Kozachok, Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith. The participants discussed a number of current issues concerning church-state relations and planned activities through the end of the year. The meeting of the MCCU Secretariat took place at the Social Center of a local Pentecostal church.

The participants noted the positive experience of cooperation between religious organizations and the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience regarding the practical aspects of reserving clergy from military mobilization in accordance with current legislation. Representatives of the Churches also exchanged views on possible amendments to the reservation criteria, in particular concerning the date on which clergy members are employed by a religious organization.

Representatives of the CCCU exchanged views on the new Civil Code of Ukraine (Draft Law No. 15150) and on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine aimed at strengthening liability for the production and distribution of child pornography (Draft Law No. 15294). They expressed support for the position of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations regarding these draft laws.

The participants also discussed the draft prayer initiative “Pause and Pray!” The initiative is intended to voluntarily add a prayer dimension to the National Minute of Silence. Honoring the memory of those who have fallen as a result of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, together with prayer for the living — especially military personnel serving on the front line — is intended to become a conscious act of spiritual support.

A simultaneous prayer by millions of people at 9:00 a.m. across Ukraine, as well as among Ukrainians in the diaspora, would create a tangible sense of “unity in prayer,” which is particularly important as Ukraine confronts existential challenges. The implementation of the “Pause and Pray!” initiative is planned for the final quarter of this year.

Members of the CCCU Secretariat agreed to hold a meeting of the Meeting of Christian Churches of Ukraine with the participation of Church leaders in December 2026. They also agreed to prepare a draft Christmas message on behalf of the heads of Ukraine’s Christian Churches.

The meeting of the Secretariat of the Council of Christian Churches of Ukraine was attended by authorized representatives of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Roman Catholic Church, the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church, the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, the Ukrainian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, and the Institute for Religious Freedom.