Serbian Church Bishops’ Council speaks out in defense of UOC

The Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Church. Photo: Serbian Church press service

On May 19, 2026, the Holy Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church published a press release following its meetings in Belgrade. In the document, the hierarchs assessed the situation in Ukraine, emphasizing the scale of the “suffering of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the hands of the current authorities in Kyiv.”

The hierarchs reviewed reports of church and monastery seizures, unlawful confiscation of Church property, as well as what they described as the systematic persecution of bishops, clergy, and monastics. The statement stresses that faithful of the canonical Church in Ukraine are today deprived of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by international conventions.

“Therefore, the Council, once again and again, raises its voice in defense of its disenfranchised and persecuted Orthodox brethren,” the final document states. The Serbian Church also issued a direct appeal to international institutions, urging them to stop ignoring the situation and respond to “this great injustice.”

As previously reported by the UOJ, Patriarch Daniel also expressed support for the persecuted UOC. The issue of the legal status of UOC communities and the preservation of church property continues to be raised in statements by Local Orthodox Churches, which call for religious disputes to be resolved within the framework of the law and with respect for the rights of believers.

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