Zelensky broke promise not to interfere in church life, protodeacon says

Zelensky at Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv. Photo: OCU

Protodeacon Vadym Novynskyi of the UOC told the Spanish channel HerQles that President Volodymyr Zelensky had broken one of his key campaign promises – not to interfere in the religious life of Ukraine.

“Before the election, he promised – and this was one of the promises he failed to keep – that he would not intrude into Church life and that all confessions would be equal for him. At the very least, he said he would ensure that the state would not interfere, as it did under Poroshenko, in the life of the Church,” Fr. Vadym said.

According to the clergyman, in reality the opposite happened: all the “unrighteous and unjust work of fighting against the Church” was led personally by Zelensky and Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak.

“And of course, he deceived the people. All of this unrighteous, unjust campaign against the Church is being led by him and Yermak alone,” the protodeacon stressed.

He also drew a parallel between Zelensky and his predecessor Petro Poroshenko: “Poroshenko began this process of pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and Zelensky continued it. In this matter, Zelensky is a worse copy of Petro Poroshenko.”

In Fr. Vadym’s view, the rhetoric about Ukraine’s “spiritual independence” conceals a very different goal: “In reality, they are fighting for Ukraine’s ‘spiritual independence’ from Christ, so that we may be free in sin, but without Christ.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Zelensky stripped His Beatitude Onuphry of his citizenship.

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