Polish Church Council criticises Ukrainian authorities over UOC ban
PAOC Bishops' Council in 2019. Photo: the Polish Church website
On 24 October 2023, the Council of Bishops of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church met to make a statement on the UOC ban by the Verkhovna Rada, reports the PAOC website.
In the statement, the Polish bishops stated "the need for the unity of the Church, which was violated by the non-canonical position of the Church in Ukraine."
"The Holy Council of Bishops of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church received with great misunderstanding the information about the delegalisation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the state authorities. The Council of Bishops pays particular attention to the fact that the Church of Christ has an ontological dimension and is not subject to human legal regulations. It is guided by Jesus Christ himself, our Saviour," the Council’s statement says.
The bishops call “for intense prayer for peace in Ukraine and the Holy Land, where fighting has begun and innocent people are dying".
As reported, according to a Polish bishop, Orthodox Christians in Ukraine are carrying the cross of Christ today.
Read also
Paris police break up peaceful protest against euthanasia
Outside the National Assembly in Paris, police cracked down on opponents of euthanasia legalization and took several activists into custody.
Family of Kyiv priest abducted by TRC says they have lost contact with him
Relatives of Archpriest Yaroslav Kruhlenko say they have been unable to reach him since he was detained by officers of the TRC and have no information about where he is being held.
Penitential canon read at Zabolottia’s persecuted UOC parish
The Orthodox community of St. Elijah on Bukovyna, deprived of its church in May 2025, is serving the services of Great Lent in a renovated space adapted for prayer.
Prosecutor’s Office demands that UOC hand over to state Staryi Pochaiv church
The Ternopil regional prosecutor’s office is seeking, through the courts, to annul the registration of ownership rights to the 17th-century Holy Protection (Intercession) Church of the UOC in the village of Staryi Pochaiv.
Centuries-old crosses from Serbian graves hauled away as scrap in Croatia
Municipal services in the Croatian town of Vrbovsko removed Orthodox crosses from cemeteries under the pretext of “danger to visitors.”
Reserve replaces Lavra Caves’ saints’ nameplates with Ukrainian-language signs
Online, people have shown what new changes the National Reserve has introduced in the caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery.