A petition in support of UOC appears in U.S.
Primate of the UOC His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: news.church.ua
A petition in support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has appeared on the website of the American Orthodox human rights organization Orthodox Reflections. Over 600 people have already signed the petition.
The authors of the document noted that Ukrainians overwhelmingly support their Church, despite having been subjected to politically motivated persecution for many years. The violations of human rights directed at Orthodox Christians in Ukraine have included:
“Forcible seizure / closure of parishes, unlawful arrests, physical abuse, abusive searches of holy sites, desecrations of holy objects, intentional targeting of parishes and holy sites for military attack, and acts of physical intimidation. Recently, local governments have banned the Ukrainian Church from even operating in their areas. President Zelensky of Ukraine has threatened to make this ban nationwide. The main churches of Kiev Caves Lavra have been removed from UOC jurisdiction, and schismatics have been allowed to use them for services.”
The authors also called on world religious and human rights organizations to condemn and demand an immediate end to the persecution of the UOC.
“Therefore, we signers of this petition call upon the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, all Orthodox jurisdictions in the West, all official Orthodox Christian ministries and institutions of higher education, all human rights organizations, the Roman Catholic Church, all other Christian bodies of good will, and any other concerned organizations to immediately draft statements decrying the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and demanding its immediate cessation,” the document noted.
As the UOJ reported, a petition “Do not ban the UOC” appeared on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
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