Metropolitan Arseniy urges UK Prime Minister to protect UOC
Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk in Court. Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra
The abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy, who is facing persecution from Ukrainian authorities, appealed to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for help in protecting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, reports the British edition “The Independent”.
The article "Top Ukraine cleric pleads with Starmer for help over Zelensky’s Orthodox church crackdown" describes the repression the UOC is facing in the current war conditions.
Speaking to “The Independent”, Metropolitan Arseniy warned: “The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is facing a great trial. Our holy temples and shrines have been destroyed, and our priests and parishioners are being killed in the war. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government seeks to ban the Church. Priests are being wrongfully arrested, and our places of worship are being seized and taken from us.”
The matter was discussed at an international conference in Berlin, which the British delegation did not attend. Sir Iain Duncan Smith is critical of the delay in appointing an envoy for religious freedom: "Keir Starmer promised that the Labour Party would champion religious freedom. But after more than 100 days in office, he has yet to appoint a special envoy."
The situation regarding the persecution of the UOC has also raised concerns of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the UK Foreign Office, which are closely monitoring events in Ukraine.
As reported earlier by the UOJ, the UN noted violations of the rights of believers in Ukraine.
Read also
In Podgorica, multi-thousand procession held on city's patron saint day
Thousands of believers walked in a procession through the capital of Montenegro, honoring the memory of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming.
Persecuted UOC parish in Zeleniv reads Great Canon
A Bukovynian Orthodox community, deprived of its church in 2024, conducts Great Lent services in an adapted facility.
Patriarch Bartholomew warns against unacceptable peace for Ukraine
The head of the Constantinople Church stated that to achieve peace in Ukraine, the leaders of nations must take the "narrow path of justice."
MinCulture opens Lavra's Near Caves only for groups and by reservation
The Ministry of Culture's statement says that "the opening of the Near Caves for believers is not only a long-awaited and outstanding event in church life but also a sign of the indestructibility of our faith".
Metropolitan Onuphry reads Great Canon at Intercession Convent of Kyiv
The Primate of the UOC led the Great Compline with the reading of the second part of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete at the capital's Intercesssion Convent.
OCU “hierarch” selling fake ID documents sent to pre-trial detention center
The Ivano-Frankivsk court has chosen a preventive measure for the OCU "bishop" suspected of issuing fictitious ordination certificates for the rank of deacon to evade mobilization.