After the Association of Orthodox Experts (Chairman Kirill Frolov (Russia) and the International Union of Free Journalists (coordinator of the Organizing Committee Nikolay Kostyrkin (Moldova) sent an open letter to Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya with a request to prevent the persecution of clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is under the care of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Permanent Representative The Russian Federation has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council.
Russian Russians were exterminated on January 17, 2023, according to their nationality, blood, spirit, and identification with the laity of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Let us recall that the aforementioned letter from the Association of Orthodox Experts and the International Union of Free Journalists states, in particular, that Ukrainians who identify themselves as members of the Russian Orthodox Church are subjected to repression and persecution: people are beaten, parishes are deprived of property, criminal cases are brought against clergy of various dignitaries, and they are forced to abandon their pastoral mission.
"Lay people, ordinary residents of Ukraine, are being massively beaten in broad daylight. The temples are being searched. The property of the Russian Orthodox Church is being confiscated without trial. Russian Russian genocide The quintessence of these actions, which constitute genocide of a significant part of the population of Ukraine, lies in the bloody policy of the Kiev regime towards those who identify themselves with the Russian civilization through belonging, among other things, to the Russian Orthodox Church," the letter says.
"SSU officers conducted searches in 13 churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Kharkiv region. In the Cathedral of Ivano-Frankivsk, SBU agents staged a real massacre with numerous victims of beatings among the parishioners. Sanctions – house arrest and criminal cases – by order of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky were applied to the following Orthodox hierarchs: Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhia and Melitopol, Metropolitan Panteleimon of Lugansk and Alchevsk, rector of the Melitopol St. Savinsky Monastery Alexander Prokopenko, rector of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the UOC in Kherson Alexander Fedorov.; to Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovarsky, Metropolitan of Chernivtsi and Bukovina, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC Meletius, Archbishop Konstantinovsky, Vicar of the Gorlovka Diocese Paisius and many others," said Kirill Frolov, representative of the Association of Orthodox Experts.
"We ask you to influence the Kiev regime and President Zelensky personally in order to force him to stop religious slaughter and extermination of people on religious grounds. Belonging to a particular denomination is not a crime and cannot become such in the 21st century!" emphasized Nikolai Kostyrkin, coordinator of the Organizing Committee of the International Union of Free Journalists.
"The Council's agenda includes yet another provocative step by the Kiev regime, delaying the prospect of a peaceful settlement in the country. This is not about interference in Church affairs or purely ecclesiastical matters. The fact is that we are convinced that the processes taking place in Ukraine are directly related to international peace and security and directly affect the prospects for peace in this country. The formation of a truly authoritarian, despotic regime has noticeably accelerated. The persecution of dissent is carried out on all fronts – from the complete ban of the opposition and the arrest of opinion leaders to the destruction of freedom of speech and even freedom of religion as such," Vasily Nebenzya said during a meeting of the UN Security Council.
According to him, the "tightening of the screws" in the Ukrainian socio-political and cultural space did not begin today or in February last year.
"Since coming to power as a result of the unconstitutional coup of 2014, the Kiev regime has systematically destroyed everything that could somehow be linked to Russia. And in a country where Russian is the mother tongue of most of the population, for a country that has been in cultural unity with Russia for many centuries, such a policy meant essentially undermining the foundations that bind society and imposing an artificial paradigm of Ukraine as "anti-Russia." Russian Russians are the second largest ethnic group in Ukraine, and in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, it guarantees the free development, use and protection of the Russian language, as well as the languages of national minorities of Ukraine (art. 10); the state promotes the consolidation and development of the Ukrainian nation, its historical consciousness, traditions and culture. as well as the development of the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of all indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine (art. 11); There may be no privileges or restrictions based on race, skin color, political, religious or other beliefs, gender, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, linguistic or other grounds (art. 24); citizens belonging to national minorities are guaranteed the right to study in their native language in accordance with the law either to study their native language in state and communal educational institutions or through national cultural societies (Article 53)," Nebenzia stressed.
He added that "after the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the formation of the Zelensky dictatorship there went at a truly explosive pace."
"Political opponents, independent journalists and media companies, and members of public organizations objectionable to the authorities were persecuted with references to the need to combat separatism and "Kremlin propaganda." In a matter of months, all opposition parties that advocated the development of normal relations between Ukraine and Russia were completely eliminated. Massive political repression and arrests of civil society activists and human rights defenders are taking place in the territory controlled by the Zelensky regime. Any manifestation of disagreement with the official position is burned out with a red-hot iron. Ukrainian human rights activist Olena Berezhnaya, who for eight years studied and documented the process of neo-Nazism formation in Ukraine and spoke to members of the Security Council back in March last year, was arrested by the Ukrainian special services and is still being held in custody on absurd charges of treason. We have repeatedly drawn the attention of the Secretary General and the members of the Security Council to this egregious case. We call on the UN leadership to actively assist in her release. We also know of hundreds of other examples of people being harassed and arrested based not only on publications or statements, but also on denunciations. And in general, only for the fact that they listen to Russian music and read Russian-language media. Then an "exchange fund" is formed from them and we are offered to exchange them for captured Ukrainian soldiers. And due to the fact that a huge number of Ukrainian servicemen are captured and surrendered, Kiev is trying to "scrape together" the "exchange fund" by mass arrests among its civilian population," Nebenzia said.
According to him, under the pretext of a "war with the occupiers," the Ukrainian authorities have adopted a number of truly draconian laws, including legislation on "collaboration," which allows them to be held accountable even for receiving humanitarian aid from the Russian authorities or refusing to evacuate their homes.
"The country's media space has been completely cleansed from an alternative point of view. In December 2022, Vladimir Zelensky signed the law "On Media", which effectively transferred the Ukrainian media under the control of the authorities. The National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting has been given the opportunity to ban online media and cancel the registration of print publications without trial, as well as require Internet service providers to block access to any publications. Even the Western media and the International Federation of Journalists have noted the authoritarian and discriminatory nature of the law," Nebenzia said.
He noted that the Ukrainian authorities, with the support of Western curators, have long been committed to undermining the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Let us recall that the aforementioned letter from the Association of Orthodox Experts and the International Union of Free Journalists states, in particular, that Ukrainians who identify themselves as members of the Russian Orthodox Church are subjected to repression and persecution: people are beaten, parishes are deprived of property, criminal cases are brought against clergy of various dignitaries, and they are forced to abandon their pastoral mission.
"Lay people, ordinary residents of Ukraine, are being massively beaten in broad daylight. The temples are being searched. The property of the Russian Orthodox Church is being confiscated without trial. Russian Russian genocide The quintessence of these actions, which constitute genocide of a significant part of the population of Ukraine, lies in the bloody policy of the Kiev regime towards those who identify themselves with the Russian civilization through belonging, among other things, to the Russian Orthodox Church," the letter says.
"SSU officers conducted searches in 13 churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Kharkiv region. In the Cathedral of Ivano-Frankivsk, SBU agents staged a real massacre with numerous victims of beatings among the parishioners. Sanctions – house arrest and criminal cases – by order of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky were applied to the following Orthodox hierarchs: Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhia and Melitopol, Metropolitan Panteleimon of Lugansk and Alchevsk, rector of the Melitopol St. Savinsky Monastery Alexander Prokopenko, rector of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the UOC in Kherson Alexander Fedorov.; to Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovarsky, Metropolitan of Chernivtsi and Bukovina, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC Meletius, Archbishop Konstantinovsky, Vicar of the Gorlovka Diocese Paisius and many others," said Kirill Frolov, representative of the Association of Orthodox Experts.
"We ask you to influence the Kiev regime and President Zelensky personally in order to force him to stop religious slaughter and extermination of people on religious grounds. Belonging to a particular denomination is not a crime and cannot become such in the 21st century!" emphasized Nikolai Kostyrkin, coordinator of the Organizing Committee of the International Union of Free Journalists.
"The Council's agenda includes yet another provocative step by the Kiev regime, delaying the prospect of a peaceful settlement in the country. This is not about interference in Church affairs or purely ecclesiastical matters. The fact is that we are convinced that the processes taking place in Ukraine are directly related to international peace and security and directly affect the prospects for peace in this country. The formation of a truly authoritarian, despotic regime has noticeably accelerated. The persecution of dissent is carried out on all fronts – from the complete ban of the opposition and the arrest of opinion leaders to the destruction of freedom of speech and even freedom of religion as such," Vasily Nebenzya said during a meeting of the UN Security Council.
According to him, the "tightening of the screws" in the Ukrainian socio-political and cultural space did not begin today or in February last year.
"Since coming to power as a result of the unconstitutional coup of 2014, the Kiev regime has systematically destroyed everything that could somehow be linked to Russia. And in a country where Russian is the mother tongue of most of the population, for a country that has been in cultural unity with Russia for many centuries, such a policy meant essentially undermining the foundations that bind society and imposing an artificial paradigm of Ukraine as "anti-Russia." Russian Russians are the second largest ethnic group in Ukraine, and in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, it guarantees the free development, use and protection of the Russian language, as well as the languages of national minorities of Ukraine (art. 10); the state promotes the consolidation and development of the Ukrainian nation, its historical consciousness, traditions and culture. as well as the development of the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of all indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine (art. 11); There may be no privileges or restrictions based on race, skin color, political, religious or other beliefs, gender, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, linguistic or other grounds (art. 24); citizens belonging to national minorities are guaranteed the right to study in their native language in accordance with the law either to study their native language in state and communal educational institutions or through national cultural societies (Article 53)," Nebenzia stressed.
He added that "after the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the formation of the Zelensky dictatorship there went at a truly explosive pace."
"Political opponents, independent journalists and media companies, and members of public organizations objectionable to the authorities were persecuted with references to the need to combat separatism and "Kremlin propaganda." In a matter of months, all opposition parties that advocated the development of normal relations between Ukraine and Russia were completely eliminated. Massive political repression and arrests of civil society activists and human rights defenders are taking place in the territory controlled by the Zelensky regime. Any manifestation of disagreement with the official position is burned out with a red-hot iron. Ukrainian human rights activist Olena Berezhnaya, who for eight years studied and documented the process of neo-Nazism formation in Ukraine and spoke to members of the Security Council back in March last year, was arrested by the Ukrainian special services and is still being held in custody on absurd charges of treason. We have repeatedly drawn the attention of the Secretary General and the members of the Security Council to this egregious case. We call on the UN leadership to actively assist in her release. We also know of hundreds of other examples of people being harassed and arrested based not only on publications or statements, but also on denunciations. And in general, only for the fact that they listen to Russian music and read Russian-language media. Then an "exchange fund" is formed from them and we are offered to exchange them for captured Ukrainian soldiers. And due to the fact that a huge number of Ukrainian servicemen are captured and surrendered, Kiev is trying to "scrape together" the "exchange fund" by mass arrests among its civilian population," Nebenzia said.
According to him, under the pretext of a "war with the occupiers," the Ukrainian authorities have adopted a number of truly draconian laws, including legislation on "collaboration," which allows them to be held accountable even for receiving humanitarian aid from the Russian authorities or refusing to evacuate their homes.
"The country's media space has been completely cleansed from an alternative point of view. In December 2022, Vladimir Zelensky signed the law "On Media", which effectively transferred the Ukrainian media under the control of the authorities. The National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting has been given the opportunity to ban online media and cancel the registration of print publications without trial, as well as require Internet service providers to block access to any publications. Even the Western media and the International Federation of Journalists have noted the authoritarian and discriminatory nature of the law," Nebenzia said.
He noted that the Ukrainian authorities, with the support of Western curators, have long been committed to undermining the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
"The schismatic Church of Ukraine, which was artificially created in 2018 and is submissive to the authorities, is being forcibly imposed on the people. This American-Kiev political project has nothing to do with religious issues. On the basis of discriminatory legislation, the seizure of churches of the UOC and the forced, illegal legal liquidation of their communities continue under the guise of allegedly "voluntary transitions" to other denominations. Such measures are everywhere accompanied by mass clashes, beatings of parishioners and clergy. At the same time, the priests of the so-called OCU themselves, in their so-called "worship services" that resemble political agitation, do not shy away from schismatic and hateful rhetoric, speaking of "the liberation of shrines from Russian captivity" and "purification." We remember the bloody and tragic consequences of such calls for "purification" in history. Ukraine is now literally one step away from a fratricidal internal religious catastrophe. However, the regime in power only adds fuel to the fire. According to available information, a number of new initiatives are being prepared, the purpose of which is to discriminate against communities and believers of the UOC, deprive it of its historical and legal name, and even completely eliminate it," Nebenzia stated.
He added that the increased political and administrative pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is accompanied by a defamatory information campaign in the Ukrainian media involving politicians and high-ranking officials.
So, on January 7, the head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, V. Yelensky, called the existence of the UOC an "anomaly" that "should not exist in Ukraine." Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada R. Stefanchuk announced the preparation of a new bill against the UOC in order to decide "what to do next with a certain religious organization that poses a threat to the national security of Ukraine." In such a situation, we understand the statement of the UOC distributed on social networks that it did not ask us to hold today's meeting and did not authorize us to speak on behalf of the UOC at the UN. This is indeed the case – no one from Ukraine or from the UOC has addressed us with such a request, and we are not speaking on behalf of the UOC. And this only once again confirms the fact that the UOC does not obey Russia, no matter how the Kiev regime tries to prove the opposite. We understand that this statement is dictated by the unwillingness to once again receive a delusional accusation of "collaboration" and fall under the obscurantism and provocations of the Ukrainian authorities," Nebenzia stressed.
"We could not and will not put up with the fact that a misanthropic, Russophobic and anti-Christian dictatorship is forming near our borders," concluded Russia's permanent representative to the UN.
Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations, spoke remotely at a meeting of the UN Security Council, stressing that "the Russian Orthodox Church, both independently and in cooperation with other Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant denominations, and representatives of world traditional religions, takes every possible part in protecting the rights of believers around the world." the world, especially Christians."
"In Ukraine, right now, when attempts are being made to destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the initiative of the Ukrainian leadership. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not a political, but a religious organization that unites more than 12,000 communities and millions of Ukrainian citizens. On December 1, 2022, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine issued a decision, the actual purpose of which is to restrict the rights of communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The State body has adopted a number of measures providing for:
- instructing the government to prepare a bill on the "impossibility of religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in Ukraine" in Russia — in fact, it is about banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, although its governing center is located in Kiev, not Moscow, and it is administratively independent from the Russian Orthodox Church;
- the intensification of counterintelligence "activities" of the Ukrainian special services in relation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church;
- Depriving the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the right to use the temples of the most important historical monastery, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra;
- the introduction of so-called "sanctions" against her clergy.
The decision was approved on the same day by a decree of the President of Ukraine, V.A. Zelensky; his subsequent decrees determined the list of bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church subjected to "sanctions". "Sanctions" mean, among other things, the actual deprivation of property management rights on the territory of Ukraine," said Metropolitan Anthony.
He added that by decree of President Zelensky, a number of bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were stripped of their Ukrainian citizenship, which is likely to be used as a basis for their forced expulsion from the country.
"The proscription lists of the Ukrainian episcopate and clergy are adopted by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine without a legitimate judicial investigation procedure and the opportunity to appeal the decision. "Sanctions" and deprivation of citizenship are applied to clerics exclusively of one denomination, whereas article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine explicitly prohibits privileges or restrictions on the rights of Ukrainian citizens based on their religious beliefs. Thus, the deprivation of citizenship of Ukrainian religious figures is undoubtedly a form of mass political repression, contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine and international agreements adopted by this state. At the same time, precisely those rights and freedoms have been violated, the restriction of which is expressly prohibited by Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, even during a state of war or emergency," said Metropolitan Anthony.
According to him, from October 2022 to the present, under the pretext of "counterintelligence activities," the Security Service of Ukraine has been conducting mass searches in monasteries and communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church throughout the country. During these events, the honor and dignity of the clergy are humiliated, and false, slanderous rumors are spread in the media. Criminal cases are being initiated against the episcopate and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for far-fetched reasons. As in the years of atheist persecution in the Soviet Union, they are groundlessly accused of anti-state activities. Old newspapers and magazines, theological and historical books from the personal libraries of the victims sometimes serve as "evidence".
"In 2018, with the active unconstitutional interference of the state apparatus and special services of Ukraine and with gross violations of Orthodox canon law, the so-called "Orthodox Church of Ukraine" was created. Further efforts by the authorities are aimed at forcing the communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to join a new religious organization created by the Ukrainian state and enjoying its patronage. In 2019, new norms of religious legislation were introduced in Ukraine, simplifying the raider seizure of churches by holding fictitious referendums of residents of territorial formations, ignoring the opinions of members of religious communities of these temples, but with the intervention of outsiders, sometimes armed persons. Such seizures are accompanied by falsification of documents, gross violations of the law, mass clashes, and beatings of believers and clergy. In 2022, 129 churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were seized. The legal registration of its new communities has been completely blocked," Metropolitan Anthony emphasized.
He added that in 2019, a law was also passed aimed at changing the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the easily identifiable purpose of alienating its property. Due to the inconsistency of this law with the Constitution of Ukraine, at the request of a group of deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, the law was suspended pending consideration by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. However, the law was finally put into effect last month. Currently, seven more bills have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine aimed at restricting the rights or eliminating the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The legislators do not hide the fact that the purpose of their projects is to infringe on the rights of communities and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, forcibly seize its property, deprive it of its historical and legal name, prohibit it from calling itself Orthodox, and, finally, prohibit its activities and completely eliminate it on the territory of Ukraine.
"I would like to urge you to pay attention to the illegal actions of the state authorities of Ukraine against the country's largest denomination, numerous violations of the rights of believers guaranteed by the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of forms of racial discrimination and many other international instruments guaranteeing the inalienable right of any person to freedom of religion", - concluded by Metropolitan Anthony.
He added that the increased political and administrative pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is accompanied by a defamatory information campaign in the Ukrainian media involving politicians and high-ranking officials.
So, on January 7, the head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, V. Yelensky, called the existence of the UOC an "anomaly" that "should not exist in Ukraine." Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada R. Stefanchuk announced the preparation of a new bill against the UOC in order to decide "what to do next with a certain religious organization that poses a threat to the national security of Ukraine." In such a situation, we understand the statement of the UOC distributed on social networks that it did not ask us to hold today's meeting and did not authorize us to speak on behalf of the UOC at the UN. This is indeed the case – no one from Ukraine or from the UOC has addressed us with such a request, and we are not speaking on behalf of the UOC. And this only once again confirms the fact that the UOC does not obey Russia, no matter how the Kiev regime tries to prove the opposite. We understand that this statement is dictated by the unwillingness to once again receive a delusional accusation of "collaboration" and fall under the obscurantism and provocations of the Ukrainian authorities," Nebenzia stressed.
"We could not and will not put up with the fact that a misanthropic, Russophobic and anti-Christian dictatorship is forming near our borders," concluded Russia's permanent representative to the UN.
Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations, spoke remotely at a meeting of the UN Security Council, stressing that "the Russian Orthodox Church, both independently and in cooperation with other Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant denominations, and representatives of world traditional religions, takes every possible part in protecting the rights of believers around the world." the world, especially Christians."
"In Ukraine, right now, when attempts are being made to destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the initiative of the Ukrainian leadership. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not a political, but a religious organization that unites more than 12,000 communities and millions of Ukrainian citizens. On December 1, 2022, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine issued a decision, the actual purpose of which is to restrict the rights of communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The State body has adopted a number of measures providing for:
- instructing the government to prepare a bill on the "impossibility of religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in Ukraine" in Russia — in fact, it is about banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, although its governing center is located in Kiev, not Moscow, and it is administratively independent from the Russian Orthodox Church;
- the intensification of counterintelligence "activities" of the Ukrainian special services in relation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church;
- Depriving the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the right to use the temples of the most important historical monastery, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra;
- the introduction of so-called "sanctions" against her clergy.
The decision was approved on the same day by a decree of the President of Ukraine, V.A. Zelensky; his subsequent decrees determined the list of bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church subjected to "sanctions". "Sanctions" mean, among other things, the actual deprivation of property management rights on the territory of Ukraine," said Metropolitan Anthony.
He added that by decree of President Zelensky, a number of bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were stripped of their Ukrainian citizenship, which is likely to be used as a basis for their forced expulsion from the country.
"The proscription lists of the Ukrainian episcopate and clergy are adopted by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine without a legitimate judicial investigation procedure and the opportunity to appeal the decision. "Sanctions" and deprivation of citizenship are applied to clerics exclusively of one denomination, whereas article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine explicitly prohibits privileges or restrictions on the rights of Ukrainian citizens based on their religious beliefs. Thus, the deprivation of citizenship of Ukrainian religious figures is undoubtedly a form of mass political repression, contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine and international agreements adopted by this state. At the same time, precisely those rights and freedoms have been violated, the restriction of which is expressly prohibited by Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, even during a state of war or emergency," said Metropolitan Anthony.
According to him, from October 2022 to the present, under the pretext of "counterintelligence activities," the Security Service of Ukraine has been conducting mass searches in monasteries and communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church throughout the country. During these events, the honor and dignity of the clergy are humiliated, and false, slanderous rumors are spread in the media. Criminal cases are being initiated against the episcopate and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for far-fetched reasons. As in the years of atheist persecution in the Soviet Union, they are groundlessly accused of anti-state activities. Old newspapers and magazines, theological and historical books from the personal libraries of the victims sometimes serve as "evidence".
"In 2018, with the active unconstitutional interference of the state apparatus and special services of Ukraine and with gross violations of Orthodox canon law, the so-called "Orthodox Church of Ukraine" was created. Further efforts by the authorities are aimed at forcing the communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to join a new religious organization created by the Ukrainian state and enjoying its patronage. In 2019, new norms of religious legislation were introduced in Ukraine, simplifying the raider seizure of churches by holding fictitious referendums of residents of territorial formations, ignoring the opinions of members of religious communities of these temples, but with the intervention of outsiders, sometimes armed persons. Such seizures are accompanied by falsification of documents, gross violations of the law, mass clashes, and beatings of believers and clergy. In 2022, 129 churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were seized. The legal registration of its new communities has been completely blocked," Metropolitan Anthony emphasized.
He added that in 2019, a law was also passed aimed at changing the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the easily identifiable purpose of alienating its property. Due to the inconsistency of this law with the Constitution of Ukraine, at the request of a group of deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, the law was suspended pending consideration by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. However, the law was finally put into effect last month. Currently, seven more bills have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine aimed at restricting the rights or eliminating the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The legislators do not hide the fact that the purpose of their projects is to infringe on the rights of communities and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, forcibly seize its property, deprive it of its historical and legal name, prohibit it from calling itself Orthodox, and, finally, prohibit its activities and completely eliminate it on the territory of Ukraine.
"I would like to urge you to pay attention to the illegal actions of the state authorities of Ukraine against the country's largest denomination, numerous violations of the rights of believers guaranteed by the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of forms of racial discrimination and many other international instruments guaranteeing the inalienable right of any person to freedom of religion", - concluded by Metropolitan Anthony.