russian Church and its "patriarch" Kirill are responsible for religious persecution in the occupied territories - OCU statement
Kyiv • UNN
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine accuses Russia of systematically violating religious freedom and persecuting clergy and believers who refuse to cooperate with the occupiers in the occupied territories of Ukraine, including through abductions, arrests, torture, imprisonment and deportation.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine emphasizes that russia systematically violates people's rights in the occupied territories, in particular, ignores the right to freedom of conscience and religion. This is stated in the Statement of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, UNN reports.
Details
It is noted that Ukrainian clergymen who refused to cooperate with the russian authorities during the occupation are banned from operating their religious organizations.
The consequence of refusing to comply with the occupiers is also persecution and terror against clergy and active members of communities, including abductions, arrests, torture and other acts of physical and psychological violence, imprisonment, and deportation.
In addition, the occupiers are terrorizing not only clergymen, but also members of their families and active members of communities.
Almost all ministers and believers of Ukrainian religious communities who do not publicly approve of the russian occupation of Ukrainian lands are subjected to them (human rights violations - ed.). This is stated by representatives of the Ukrainian Catholic communities of the Eastern and Latin rites, Protestant and evangelical associations, Muslim and Jewish communities. These facts are recorded in the documents of independent human rights organizations, including the Institute for Religious Freedom (Kyiv)
It is noted that part of the policy of systematic oppression of religious freedom in the occupied territories is the forced decision to change the jurisdiction of Orthodox religious communities and include them directly in the structures of the russian Orthodox Church with direct subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate, rather than the Metropolis in Kyiv, headed by Metropolitan Onufriy).
A similar practice of forcibly incorporating Ukrainian religious communities and associations into russian religious structures is carried out in relation to other confessions.
The Moscow Patriarchate and its head, Kirill (Vladimir Gundyaev), are jointly responsible for Rrussian terror and religious persecution in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. After all, they systematically publicly support, approve, bless, encourage, and justify the aggressive policies of the Kremlin regime and russian war crimes on Ukrainian soil. In fact, the structure of the Moscow Patriarchate, as well as the structures of other major religious associations in the russian state, have become part of the state apparatus, are completely dependent on the russian authorities and carry out their criminal orders
The Synod called on all Orthodox communities in Ukraine that still for whatever reason remain affiliated with the structures of the Moscow Patriarchate to stop doing so.
The OCU believes that it is the moral obligation of believers and religious communities in Ukraine to completely get rid of any subordination to these russian de facto state structures.
First of all, this concerns the subordination of Ukrainian Orthodox communities to the structure of the russian Orthodox Church. Continuing to be subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate is moral complicity in its sins and crimes, and is detrimental to both the Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian people.
Addendum
The Holy Synod of the Local Orthodox Church of Ukraine emphasized that the Moscow Patriarchate and any of its structures and representatives do not have any canonical authority or jurisdiction in Ukraine.
The Synod explains that no excommunications, bans, decisions to defrock or other similar actions issued by the bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine have any validity, canonical force, or any significance.
Recall
The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has decided to remove St. Prince Alexander Nevsky from the church calendar and instead honor another Alexander on November 23, as Alexander Nevsky is now perceived in Ukraine as a figure of Russian propaganda, not a historical figure.
