Amsterdam: Zelensky fights the UOC as it is an independent source of power

350,000-strong UOC religious procession on the Day of the Baptism of Rus’, July 27, 2021. Photo: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

During a broadcast on Turkish channel TRT, journalist Matthew Moore asked Robert Amsterdam, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s (UOC) international legal representative, to comment on the “concerning situation” surrounding the creation of a parallel Church in Ukraine in 2018 by Petro Poroshenko, and how the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) differs from the UOC.

Amsterdam pointed out that former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also played a role in the creation of the OCU. In the U.S., this was seen as a way to deal a blow to the Russian leadership.

“It's it's a sort of Leninist mentality that they impose on the Church. They make the Church completely political. The United States invades the spiritual realm of Ukraine not knowing what the heck they're doing, getting in the middle of spiritual fights that had been going on for decades,” Amsterdam said.

Explaining the difference between the OCU and the UOC, the lawyer stated: “The OCU is controlled by the presidency, it is not separate from the state – it is the state.”

According to Amsterdam, “One of the things about Zelensky is he's paranoid about any any entity having power.”

“And the Church to the extent it's separate from the state is is a power. I mean the Pope has power, church leaders have power. Well, in Ukraine that's not allowed. It's a dictatorship at this point of Mr Zelensky, and their attack is an attack on another source – an independent source of power which Mr Zelensky cannot allow,” said Robert Amsterdam.

As previously reported by the UOJ, Robert Amsterdam told Turkish media that Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk has been held in horrific prison conditions for nine months under fabricated charges.

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