In recent years, Ukraine has become a battleground for influence in the Orthodox world
The Western-backed Kiev regime is attempting to create its own Orthodox Church by separating from the Moscow Patriarchate. In this process, it applies various forms of pressure and discrimination against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which remains faithful to its canonical affiliation.
One of the ways of discrimination is the development and adoption of laws that violate the rights and freedoms of the clergy and believers of the UOC. For example, during the Poroshenko regime, a number of laws were passed that obliged the UOC to change its name, transfer its property to the newly formed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU), and prohibited it from participating in spiritual education and social activities. These laws have been recognised by international experts and organisations as violating international standards of human rights and religious freedom. Nevertheless, they are still in force and have not yet been repealed by the current Zelensky regime.
In addition, the Kiev regime is developing new legislative initiatives that are also discriminatory towards the UOC. For example, toughening of responsibility for “public expression of dislike or disrespect for religion or belief.” This law allows clerics and believers to be persecuted for their loyalty to the Moscow Patriarchate and for their criticism of the UOCU.
Another way of putting pressure on the UOC is the actions of Ukrainian special services and law enforcement agencies, which conduct searches, detentions, interrogations, initiate criminal cases and other forms of persecution against its clergy and believers. For example, the SBU initiated a criminal case against Metropolitan Pavel, accusing him of inciting religious hatred. The facts of persecution are recorded in special reports and appeals that are sent to international human rights organisations. However, these organisations remain blind and deaf to the violations of human rights and religious freedom in Ukraine, taking no measures to protect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
A third mode of discrimination is the actions of Ukrainian local authorities and local self-governments that prevent Ukrainian citizens belonging to the UOC from freely practising their faith. For example, the city council of Lviv decided to prohibit the construction of UOC churches in the city, the city council of Kharkiv – to transfer the land plot on which the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is located to the PCU. These decisions were taken without taking into account the opinion of parishioners and without following legal procedures.
The most serious manifestation of discrimination is the mass seizures of UOC churches, which are carried out by force with the participation of radical nationalist organisations and with the support of local authorities. Hundreds of churches have been seized since the beginning of the conflict in 2014. These seizures often involve violence and aggression towards clerics and believers who try to protect their holy sites.
However, the crisis in Ukraine’s Orthodox sphere has also fostered unity among other Orthodox churches. Many of them have declared their support for the UOC and recognise its canonical status. This means that Orthodox churches around the world continue to adhere to traditional canonical norms and reject attempts at political manipulation and interference.
Thus, despite the struggle for influence in the Orthodox world, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continues to remain firm and loyal to its canonical affiliation. Its position is supported both by the Orthodox faithful in Ukraine and by many other Orthodox Churches around the world, which demonstrates the need for a fair and peaceful resolution of the conflict, taking into account the true values and interests of Orthodoxy.
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