Political analyst: Zelensky promised to convert to Orthodoxy in 2019
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Hromadke
Political analyst and historian Kostiantyn Bondarenko stated in an interview with journalist Oleksandr Shelest that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is an atheist, despite having said he would convert to Orthodoxy.
"I know that in 2019, in the presence of witnesses, Zelensky promised to convert to Orthodoxy. He made this promise at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. It happened right after his election as President," Bondarenko emphasized, adding that the promise did not have to do with the OCU, as Zelensky was on the premises of the UOC monastery complex at the time.
"We all have seen his subsequent actions," the expert concluded. Bondarenko noted that it is a mistake to consider Zelensky a Jew in a religious sense, as "he is Jewish by ethnicity but not a practitioner of Judaism; he is rather an atheist."
Commenting on the President’s remarks about his belief that God will help Ukraine, Bondarenko said that when Zelensky, as an atheist, addresses God, it sounds blasphemous.
As reported by the UOJ, President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that Russia deliberately destroyed Ukrainian churches and tortured and executed priests who refused to serve under Patriarch Kirill.
Read also
Priest at Lavra: Respond to all trials with prayer, not enmity
During a prayer vigil near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a priest reminded the faithful of the power of faith, mercy, and prayer in a time of trials for the Church.
Apartments for sale built on land allocated to OCU and UGCC, media report
Journalists report that apartment complexes were built on plots allocated to the OCU's and UGCC's structures in Ternopil for religious purposes.
10,000 signatures against seizure of UOC church submitted to Odesa RMA
The Odesa Eparchy collected 10,000 signatures in support of parishioners of the seized church in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky.
Police open fraud case against Mage Veliar, MP says
Law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into the activities of Oryshchenko, who staged blasphemous actions outside the walls of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
RCC cleric in U.S. celebrates LGBT Mass opposite gay bar
An RCC cleric celebrated Mass near a gay bar and said the Catholic faith had been built for centuries on the experience of “marginalized LGBT Catholics.”
Hierarchs of eight Local Churches concelebrate Divine Liturgy in Greece
Hierarchs from eight Local Orthodox Churches concluded the Pavleia 2026 forum with a solemn Divine Liturgy, calling the Orthodox world to unity around the apostolic tradition.