ROCOR on UOC ban: It is a violation of the Constitution and lawlessness
UOC Cross Procession. Photo: Pershyi Kozatsky
A representative of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), Bishop Theodosius of Seattle wrote a statement based on the Holy Scriptures, in which the adoption of Bill 8371, aimed at destroying the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is described as an act of lawlessness and a violation of global constitutional laws, according to the ROCOR website.
"We have heard that a bill is being adopted in Ukraine to ban the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, this is not the first persecution, well-known from history, and it will not be the last, as mentioned in the Apocalypse," the statement reads. This event is characterized as the fulfillment of the Holy Scriptures: "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work" (2 Thess. 2:7).
The criticism was also directed at the Ukrainian Parliament, which is accused of unlawful incursion into Church affairs. "We now see firsthand how the current Ukrainian so-called parliament unlawfully interferes in the affairs of the Church," the statement underscores. It is noted that even in the United States, which the Ukrainian legislators look to as a model, there is a constitutional law that stands first and foremost, which guarantees freedom of religion.
The statement concludes with a call to increase prayers for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its believers:
"His Beatitude Onuphry, the Primate of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, along with the persecuted hierarchs and the God-preserved flock, will overcome this lawless schism instigated by the authorities.
Despite all the hardships endured by the suffering Church in Ukraine, the truth will triumph."
As reported by the UOJ, ROCOR compared Bill 8371 to the persecutions faced by the Church from the Bolsheviks.
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