Romanian Parliament reads a call for help from Romanian-speaking UOC parishes
The Romanian MP read out in Parliament the appeal of the Romanian-speaking communities of the UOC with a request for help. Photo: screenshot of the FB page of Dumitru Viorel Focșa
On April 26, 2023, in the Romanian Parliament, MP Dumitru Viorel Focșa read out an appeal from the Romanian-speaking communities of the UOC with a call for help. The deputy posted a video message on his Facebook page.
The appeal submitted to the head of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania, as well as to the State Secretary of the Department for Romanians, says that the Ukrainian authorities in Chernivtsi are preparing to take away the land belonging to the temples of the UOC, groundlessly accusing the Church of having ties with Moscow.
“Unfortunately, the authorities of Northern Bukovyna, which is a multinational region, cloned the decisions taken in other regions, other cities and mono-ethnic lands of Ukraine. Churches that did not want to break away from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church risk losing the land they have served for decades. As a result, the Romanians may lose a number of their churches," the report says. “The churches of our ancestors, some built with church funds or money from the Romanian state, will no longer belong to the Romanian community for reasons that are difficult to explain and understand.”
The authors of the appeal request the Romanian authorities: parliamentarians, senators, ministers, state secretaries, state leaders to intervene so that the Ukrainian authorities do not make decisions against the Romanian community and its churches.
"We demand immediate consultations with members of the Romanian society – parishioners, priests, association leaders, think tanks, before making any decisions about the fate of places of worship that are of historical and cultural value to us," the authors of the appeal say.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that according to the Romanian deputy, what the Ukrainian authorities are doing with the UOC is complete madness.
Read also
Priests and laity of Rivne Eparchy donate blood for children with cancer
In Rivne, the UOC clergy and laity have donated blood for children undergoing treatment for cancer.
Kyiv seminary students meet with People’s Artist Larisa Kadochnikova
Students of Kyiv’s theological schools spoke with the legend of Ukrainian cinema, who shared her memories of filming "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors".
Bancheny Monastery reports provocation
The UOC monastery in Bancheny has reported a provocation by unidentified individuals.
Romanian Church to hold joint prayer for peace in Ukraine
On the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine, special prayers for an end to the hostility will be offered in all churches of the Romanian Patriarchate, both in the country and abroad.
Armenian bishops call on authorities to stop Church persecution
At a meeting in Austria, hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church reaffirmed their faithfulness to Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians and called on the authorities to stop the persecution of the clergy.
Italian media: Ukrainian authorities persecute the country’s largest confession
The Italian outlet L’Identità reported on mass searches, the arrests of clergy, and the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which it describes as the largest Church in Ukraine.