In London, UCCRO calls UOC clergy accomplices in war

The UCCRO delegation in London. Photo: the UCCRO website

On March 11, 2026, a delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) held a meeting in the House of Commons of Great Britain with Conservative Party MP Rebecca Smith. According to an official statement on the organization's website, the delegation included OCU spokesperson Yevstratiy Zoria, head of the UGCC diocese in London Kenneth Nowakowski, RCC representative Vitaliy Kryvytskyi, and other figures.

The main leitmotif of the meeting was accusations against religious structures allegedly connected to the Russian Federation. The UCCRO representatives claimed that certain religious figures from different denominations are “accomplices in crimes against humanity,” since they actively support the military actions. Although the UCCRO website decided not to go into details, it is not difficult to guess what denomination is targeted. The delegates paid special attention to the "misanthropic ideology of the Russian world," which, in their opinion, is systematically promoted.

Interestingly, in their effort to defend “freedom of religion,” representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Uniates in London vividly described religious persecution in territories controlled by Russia: the arrest of priests, torture, and the destruction of churches. At the same time, the British parliamentarians were not informed about the seizures of Ukrainian Orthodox Church churches and the beatings of believers in the non-occupied part of Ukraine - actions for which Zoria’s structures are so well known.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed on “further communication,” which in the language of such delegations usually means lobbying for additional pressure under the pretext of combating “hostile influence.” After the session of complaints in Parliament, the delegation went to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral to consolidate the success of the diplomatic mission in an environment more familiar to them.

Previously, UOJ wrote that such foreign trips by the UCCRO are often used to convince Western partners of the "necessity" of banning the UOC, substituting concepts of religious freedom with political expediency. Just a month ago, Zelensky discussed with the UCCRO plans for "advocacy" of Ukraine's religious freedom abroad.

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