Head of Lithuanian Church: UOC is experiencing unprecedented persecution

Metropolitan Innocent of Vilnius and Lithuania. Photo: the press service of the Lithuanian Church

Primate of the Lithuanian Church Metropolitan Innocent in an interview with the newspaper "Orthodox Lithuania" said that the UOC today is experiencing unprecedented persecution.

"Churches belonging to the UOC are seized en masse and lawlessly, religious processions are banned, criminal cases are brought against church hierarchs under dubious pretexts. Metropolitan Onuphry has been expelled from his residence at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Steps are being taken to legally ban the UOC," the archpastor stated.

He added that "the believers and clergy are being pressured to defect to the non-canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU), a structure that is recognised by only four of the fifteen Local Orthodox Churches". Metropolitan Innocent said that "great injustice is being done" in Ukraine towards the UOC.

"Very many Ukrainian refugees who have joined our parishes are people who in Ukraine attended the churches of the UOC. We can testify that these are pious and hardworking people, patriots of their Homeland," Metropolitan Innocent said.

He stressed that "practically in each of our temples, there are Ukrainian refugees. Thanks to them, the number of parishioners in all our parishes has increased dramatically".

Also, with his blessing, there is a separate community of the UOC in the St. Paraskeva Church in Vilnius, which is "taken spiritual care by the canonical Ukrainian priest from Kharkiv". According to Metropolitan Innocent, "many parishes provide refugees with comprehensive assistance, including material aid. This is also done at the level of the archdiocese. The Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery has been providing shelter and food for many months to people who fled the horrors of war to Lithuania."

As earlier reported, the Metropolitan of Vilnius discussed with the head of the POC the autonomy of his Church.

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