Metropolitan Theodosiy’s appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew circulated at OSCE

OSCE. Photo: Cherkasy Eparchy

On October 16, 2025, at a session of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), human rights advocates circulated an appeal by Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv addressed to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The press service of the Cherkasy Eparchy reported the development.

In his appeal, the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) called on the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to respond to the involvement of OCU clergy in the violent seizure of St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy. Metropolitan Theodosiy stressed that Patriarch Bartholomew’s granting of the tomos to this structure has led to widespread violations of the rights of the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Metropolitan cited specific examples of crimes committed by representatives of the OCU, including the theft of liturgical property and its subsequent public use.

The appeal was presented as part of a submission by the human rights organization Public Advocacy, which holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The document was distributed among diplomats participating in the OSCE meeting and entered into the organization’s official documentation system.

Thus, for the first time, criticism of Patriarch Bartholomew’s actions in connection with responsibility for mass human rights violations in Ukraine has received an international diplomatic platform.

As the UOJ previously reported, the Cherkasy hierarch earlier addressed the United Nations regarding the unlawful mobilization of UOC clergy.

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