UOJ readers do not believe Zelensky will end practice of pressure on UOC

Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: strana.ua

The overwhelming majority of readers of the Union of Orthodox Journalists do not believe that Vladimir Zelensky will take any action to repeal laws against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted on the UOJ website.

Readers were asked to answer the question of how Zelensky would react to the appeal of a million believers.

As of Monday, April 12, out of 1,318 survey participants, only 6% believe that Zelensky will take actions to abolish anti-church laws.

The rest of the votes were almost equally divided between the options "will continue the course of support for the OCU and pressure on the UOC" (49%)” and "will ‘not notice’ the appeal" (45%).

Recall that on April 1, 2021, believers delivered more than a million signatures to the Office of the President, collected under an appeal to Zelensky on the persecution of the UOC.

In the appeal, the full text of which is published here, the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called on the President as the guarantor of the Constitution to protect their rights. The signatures were brought to the Office of the President by representatives of the dioceses most affected by church raids and illegal re-registration of religious communities.

The UOJ also wrote there had been no response to the appeal of believers from the Office of the President so far, but the Church hopes that the Ukrainian authorities will finally hear the voice of their citizens with proper follow-up.

Read also

DESS: The number of communities joining OCU in 2024 is half of last year’s

Over a year, 232 communities of the UOC changed their jurisdiction.

Scale of internal damage to UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia shown online

The video allows viewers to assess the damage endured by the main Orthodox church of the UOC in Zaporizhzhia.

Ex-MP UOC protodeacon Novinsky declared suspicion of high treason

The former MP is accused of "ensuring that a significant part of Ukrainian society, who are believers of the UOC, remain under the direct influence of the leader of the ROC".

St Andrew’s icon survives under the rubble of UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia

The icon was painted by nuns of the St Nicholas Monastery in Patras (Greece) and consecrated on the relics of St Andrew the Apostle.

RF missile strike destroys St Andrew's Cathedral of UOC in Zaporizhzhia

The fragments damaged the roof of the building, dome, ceilings, cut windows and disfigured classrooms.

Media shows conditions in which persecuted communities of Volyn have to pray

After their churches were seized, UOC faithful are compelled to pray in poorly equipped facilities.