Servicemen rejecting medals from UOC-KP after it refused to award a gay
An award from the UOC-KP. Photo: Military LGBT+ TV channel
Five military personnel and volunteers have refused their awards from the UOC-KP in solidarity with the gay military member Viktor Pylypenko, from whom Filaret revoked the medal after learning about his sexual orientation, reports Zmina.
Military men Ilia Korotenko and Ivan Havrylko, as well as volunteers Pavlo Shatokhin, Natalia Solovyeva, and Olena Kolomiichuk, have all rejected the medal, the inadmissibility of discrimination against LGBT+ individuals and calling on other military personnel to do the same.
"We urge the authorities to finally implement the necessary bills to protect the community defending the state. After all, you can annul an award, but you can never annul freedom," the statement by LGBT+ activists says.
The human rights LGBT centre "Our World" recalled that Filaret was a bishop of the UOC from 1962 to 1992 and did not even deny that he collaborated with the Soviet KGB.
As reported, the UOC-KP revoked the award from the military member Viktor Pylypenko and accused him of lying after he claimed to have been awarded a medal by Filaret for belonging to the LGBT community.
Read also
OCU cleric responds to Hryshchuk's provocations at funerals for AFU soldiers
Sofroniy Chuprina refuted claims about the necessity of opening the Royal Doors during funeral services.
Kosmach residents accuse OCU monks of supporting "Russian world" ideas
Parishioners of the OCU stated that the monastery residents near the village of Kosmach use pro-Russian rhetoric, preventing them from switching to the "new calendar".
Medieval church in England safeguarded with National Lottery funds
The preservation of a 13th-century church in Leicestershire was made possible thanks to money from British National Lottery draws.
Lavra Reserve marks centenary of Bolshevik seizure of the monastery
Reconstructions of museum exhibits from the “museum town,” which the Bolsheviks proclaimed within the monastery walls, were staged by the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve.
Sweden stops state support for Islamic organizations in country
The Swedish government has officially stopped all taxpayer-funded grants to the aid organization Islamic Relief Sweden (IRS) after an investigation revealed risks of connections to extremism.
Head of Montenegro’s schismatics meet with Phanar representative in Rome
A Finnish archbishop under the Phanar’s jurisdiction held a meeting with a representative of an uncanonical church structure from Montenegro.