President of New York Young Republican Club: We support Metropolitan Onuphry

Stefano Forte, President of the New York Young Republican Club. Photo: UOJ

On August 6, 2025, following a meeting between Republican politicians and UOC attorney Robert Amsterdam, Stefano Forte, President of the New York Young Republican Club, declared that “craziness that is going on” in Ukraine’s church situation.

“The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a truly a persecuted Church that we need to rally behind. It is a shame that leaders in this country have not been more open,” Forte told UOJ’s U.S. correspondent Ben Dixon.

He expressed gratitude to Vice President Vance for his words of support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Senate.”

“As a leader in the young Republican movement in the United States I want to voice my support for Metropolitan Onuphry. We support you. What they're doing to your Church is absolutely disgusting,” the politician stressed, calling on UOC faithful to remain loyal to their Church.

Forte shared that he comes from a Greek Orthodox family, and emphasized that while the Turkish yoke was a time of great trials for the Greeks, it was also a time of spiritual growth.

“We were strengthened in our Orthodoxy, strengthened in being Greek. In the face of persecution we grew as a Church, so in these times of persecution we need to thank God and say that this has been brought upon us to strengthen us,” Forte said.

“The Holy Spirit is with us. Christ is with us. So thank you so much. I hope that this event was a small step towards a much broader goal which is bringing this to light and having our leaders talk about this to the people of Ukraine,” he added, reaffirming that the U.S. Young Republicans support the faithful of the UOC.

“Stay strong. We support you and your Church,” he concluded.

As previously reported, during the meeting with Robert Amsterdam, young Republicans expressed their support for the faithful of the UOC.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the number of Orthodox Christians among young Republicans in the U.S. has sharply increased.

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