Metropolitan Theodosiy: What they’re doing to the UOC is religious genocide

Metropolitan Theodosiy after being beaten by OCU thugs. Photo: diocesan press service

In an interview with Suspilne, Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv described the situation surrounding the seizure of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) churches as genocide based on religious grounds. The diocesan press service published a video of his remarks.

“There is currently complete legal anarchy and lawlessness in the country regarding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Without exaggeration, one can say that all the signs of genocide on religious grounds against the faithful of the UOC are present,” emphasized Metropolitan Theodosius.

Commenting on the seizure of the cathedral in Cherkasy, the archbishop explained the legal side in detail: “The Cherkasy cathedral was seized illegally. Because the cathedral is private property, it’s real estate, and it belongs to the Cherkasy diocesan administration. It is a legal entity. The land beneath the cathedral is also under permanent use by the diocesan administration. There is a State Act for the land.”

According to the hierarch, the cathedral is now held “by people who have nothing to do with it – legally or factually. They didn’t build it and have never attended it as parishioners.”

Metropolitan Theodosiy noted that during the seizure, violence was used against the faithful: “Everyone saw what happened: people were hit on the head, one of our priests had his teeth knocked out, arms were broken, legs were broken.”

At the same time, he said, none of those responsible have been held accountable: “Has even one of those thugs been prosecuted? Is even one of them in pretrial detention or under house arrest? No.”

The archbishop stressed that the actions of the raiders fall under the UN's definition of genocide: “There was a resolution by the UN General Assembly in 1949 about genocide on various grounds. In this case, the grounds are religious.”

According to the metropolitan, violations of UOC believers’ rights have already been recorded at the international level: “The UN report On Human Rights for 2024 includes this vile incident that took place in Cherkasy: the beating of people, the seizure of a church.”

Metropolitan Theodosiy also expressed concern about possible future attempts to seize churches in the diocese: “If someone tries, as with the cathedral, to take over the Church of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called or the church in the southwestern district, I believe the parishioners from across the city will immediately come together to defend their shrine.”

The hierarch expressed confidence that once Ukraine returns to the rule of law, all those responsible for church raids will be brought to justice: “Both the beneficiaries of these seizures, and the organizers, and those who carried them out, as well as those who simply showed up as a crowd of state-funded extras to create the illusion of a community that doesn’t exist.”

Earlier, UOJ reported that Metropolitan Theodosiy spoke about planned seizures of UOC churches in Cherkasy.

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