UOC-KP "bishop" denied entry to U.S. Prayer Breakfast due to protesting OCU

Luke Zhoba at Trump's inauguration. Photo: Zhoba's Facebook page

On February 7, 2025, organizers of the Ukrainian Prayer Breakfast in Washington denied entry to the "Bishop of Philadelphia" of the UOC-KP, Luke Zhoba, following an ultimatum from the leadership of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). Zhoba himself reported this on his Facebook page.

According to him, "this disgraceful situation highlights the ongoing intrigues and contradictions within the Ukrainian Orthodox community, as well as the discrimination, persecution, and oppression faced by the UOC-KP from OCU leaders who attended the event and issued a provocative demand to the organizers to categorically prevent any representative of the Kyiv Patriarchate from being admitted."

It is evident that the "bishop" was referring to Epifaniy Dumenko and Yevstratiy Zoria, who were in Washington at the time and spoke at the Ukrainian Prayer Breakfast.

In his statement, Zhoba questioned the professionalism of Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova.

He announced that he "intends to pursue the matter officially, informing Congress, the State Department, and other institutions about the Church's discrimination, including filing lawsuits."

As a reminder, Zoria previously assured Americans that the ban on the UOC was a measure to protect religious freedom.

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