Europe is concerned about violations of rights of UOC believers, – Bishop Victor

The duty of the Representation of the UOC to International Organizations is to clearly express the position of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and protect the rights and freedoms of Orthodox citizens of Ukraine. This was said by Bishop of Baryshevka Viktor, head of the Mission, in an interview to the site of Kiev Metropolitanate of the UOC.

Vladyka Victor said that during the OSCE meetings on human rights in Vienna and Warsaw, as well as the meeting of the XXIV General Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in Rome, the Representation of the UOC to International Organizations raised the issue of violation of religious rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

"Taking part in such events, our task and duty is to clearly express the position of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and protect the rights and freedoms of Orthodox citizens of Ukraine – our flock being at present the largest part of the Ukrainian society.

Therefore, we must employ all available opportunities, including international sites, to try to improve an extremely tense religious situation in Ukraine. Our statements and speeches do not pass without a trace. The issues raised remain in the OSCE documentary base, and thanks to the information dissemination of the official position of the UOC, the report of the US Department of State on Human Rights and the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reflected the violation of the rights of believers of the UOC.

In Rome, within the walls of the Italian Parliament, there were European MEPs from different countries. In addition to the official speech, there was an opportunity to talk on the sidelines with deputies and representatives of the European media; in particular, at the request of one of the leading Bulgarian TV channels, it was necessary to talk about the realities of today in the religious environment of Ukraine.

As already known, according to the results of our work in the Italian Parliament, the resolution of the General Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy was adopted, in which the Ukrainian issue was addressed, and the parliamentarians expressed concern about the violation of the rights of the UOC believers in Ukraine. Moreover, the Assembly’s Secretariat was instructed to monitor this issue, so that the European MEPs would be timely informed about the violations cited," the Bishop explained.