EP reported severe beating of UOC priests by militants in Chernivtsi
European Parliamentarian Luis Lazarus. Photo: Lazarus's Facebook
On June 18, 2025, Romanian MEP Luis Lazarus, speaking in the European Parliament, criticized the beating of priests of the Holy Spirit Cathedral (UOC) in Chernivtsi by militants. In his speech, he stressed that the clergy of Romanian origin were affected.
"Mr. President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleagues, yesterday in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, priests, Orthodox priests of the Romanian community, were beaten. Last year, Metropolitan Longin was beaten, and he has been dragged through sham trials for years. The Romanian minority has always been oppressed in Ukraine," the parliamentarian stated.
He stressed that Ukraine aspires to join the EU but at the same time violates human rights.
"We constantly talk about LGBT minorities, but we do not talk about such an important minority as the Romanian one– over half a million people from Ukraine," Lazarus stated.
In comments on Facebook, the deputy criticized the talks about Ukraine's admission to the EU. "Isn't it enough how foolishly they behave with our Romanians there?" he wrote.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Romanian media widely reported about the attempted seizure of the Chernivtsi cathedral.
Read also
Dumenko shows Ilya of Murom “icon” with bident and moustache at his relics
The image of Ilya of Murom bears the symbols of the “Northern Resistance Movement.”
Monastic tonsure performed at Kyiv Theological Schools
Three students of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary received the monastic tonsure at the Church of St. Agapitus of the Caves at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
Christians of the Holy Land ask Israel to save Gaza’s children with cancer
Patriarch Theophilos and leaders of Christian denominations are asking the Israeli government to allow children from Gaza who are suffering from cancer to receive urgently needed treatment.
Bessarabian Metropolis claims canonical succession in Moldova
The head of the Bessarabian Metropolis voiced claims to an exclusive role in the Orthodox life of Moldova.
Amsterdam criticizes anti-UOC law in British media
On the air of a British TV channel, lawyer Amsterdam stated about the torture of clergy, church seizures, and the adoption of the anti-UOC law that violates the Constitution of Ukraine.
The street and square in Kyiv will be renamed in honor of Caucasian imams
The capital authorities abandoned Soviet toponyms and immortalized figures associated with Caucasian Islamic leaders.