OCU Bishops’ Council calls on Ukraine to join EU

OCU representatives in the Refectory Cathedral of the Lavra. Photo: OCU

On July 15, 2026, the Bishops’ Council of the OCU issued a message from the seized Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra calling on Ukrainians to support the country’s accession to the European Union.

“The European Union has many problems, but within it one can freely preach the Gospel and profess the Orthodox Christian faith without its being distorted by the heretical doctrine of the ‘Russian world,’” the document states.

“Europe, especially in comparison with Russia and its satellites, remains a space of freedom where one can preserve and defend one’s national, spiritual, and cultural identity,” the message says.

The document does not explain why the OCU raises the subject of Russia in the context of Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

“Therefore, the choice is obvious to us – the Bishops’ Council consistently supports the path chosen by our people toward unity with the European democratic community,” the document states.

As previously reported by the UOJ, DESS head Viktor Yelensky said that members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations remain opposed to LGBT issues for now but will make compromises for the sake of EU integration.

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