Amsterdam: The establishment of OCU is a U.S. government special operation
Robert Amsterdam. Photo: Screenshot from Tucker Carlson’s YouTube channel
International attorney for the UOC, Robert Amsterdam, stated in an interview with Tucker Carlson that the OCU was established with the involvement of the United States.
"Five years ago, a new Church was established in Ukraine by the Poroshenko administration with active connivance of the U.nited States government. The U.S. State Department was involved in the establishment of the Church. I believe either USAID or some other organizations funded this state church called the OCU. This is basically a kind of CIA operation, if you will, to set up a church that would be completely free of what they viewed as the dangerous Putin influence," Amsterdam stated.
According to him, the State Department openly violated the U.S. Constitution by "engaging in the destruction of religious freedom in a foreign country, doing things absolutely illegal under our Constitution."
"We've studied it, we have met with people at high levels of the U.S. government who confirmed for me that this was a U.S. government operation. And we have done everything we could, but we have walked into a wall of Ukrainian propaganda inside Washington," the lawyer said.
He emphasized that the "OCU has stolen 1,500 of our churches."
"And worse – beaten our priests, beaten our parishioners, and I have all of this on video. If you go to save-uoc.com, you will see the videos of our parishioners being beaten. These are the elderly parents of people at the front fighting for the liberation and protection of Ukraine, being beaten by SBU (that's their secret police), wearing death masks with Nazi insignias on their arm," Amsterdam said.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Tucker Carlson called Zelensky a dictator because he banned a Christian denomination.
Read also
Myltsi Monastery shows pictures of shrine's revival from ruins
Archive footage of the St. Nicholas Monastery in Myltsi dated 1994 and modern photos of the revived monastery have been published online.
Embassy of Ukraine holds "prayer for Ukraine" at Weiling Wall in Jerusalem
The Ukrainian Embassy performed a ceremony at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
Founder of children's shelter in Athens asks for help to avoid prison
The Athens Court of Appeals sentenced the head of the Greek foundation to 9.5 years in prison with the right of redemption.
In Butove, OCU supporters hold meeting on UOC parish "transfer"
In the House of Culture, residents of the village of Butove, Rivne region, decided the fate of St. John's Church of the UOC.
His Beatitude reads first part of Great Penitential Canon at Lavra
Metropolitan Onuphry led the Great Compline at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, with the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.
Orthodox youth meetings held in deaneries of UOC's Rivne Eparchy
Spiritual and educational events ahead of Great Lent were held in the deaneries of the Rivne Eparchy with the participation of clergy and Orthodox youth.