Parishioners and priests of the UOC do not appeal to the UN, fearing reprisals
Ukrainian law enforcement officers may begin a new wave of repression of supporters of the UOC just because Russia organized a meeting in their defense at the UN.
Vakhtang Kipshidze, deputy head of the Synodal Department for Church-Society and Media Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, stated this at a briefing at the UN Security Council about the persecution of the UOC in Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Yes, you heard right, they want to deprive the UOC of legal personality and liquidate it. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has repeatedly sent an appeal to the UN Secretary General, the heads of the OSCE, and the Council of Europe with evidence of mass violations of the rights of UOC believers. But, unfortunately, we hear only silence in response. It seems that no one in the world community cares about the shameless destruction of the UOC, which unites tens of millions of believers.
Moreover, the testimony of Russian religious figures in defense of members of the UOC is considered by the Ukrainian special services as another reason for their persecution.
But we do not and will not hear the voices of Ukrainian believers in the UN Security Council. They are intimidated, afraid to openly defend their rights, because in this case they will face reprisals on the territory of Ukraine.
The exception is the Ukrainian Orthodox journalist Yan Taksyur, who spoke here in the summer, and only because he managed to leave the territory of Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange, and he felt safe,” Kipshidze said.
He pointed out that the persecution of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine is being stimulated by the Kyiv authorities with the goal of breaking all ties with Russia.
“The Russian Orthodox Church is already accustomed to the fact that any of our testimony in defense of the rights of Ukrainian believers is considered by state and para-state Ukrainian media as evidence of the guilt of the Ukrainian Church.
If there is a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, then, in their opinion, it is possible to shamelessly destroy everything that is connected with the common spiritual history of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, and it is the Ukrainian believers who are the first to be destroyed.
But this logic, in our opinion, is completely flawed. The world has gone through many wars in its history, but if warring states each time completely destroyed their cultural and historical ties, collected over centuries, then it would slide into barbarism,” said a representative of the Patriarchate.
Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya confirmed his words.
“I would like to immediately emphasize that the UOC did not contact us with a request to hold today’s meeting and did not authorize us to speak on its behalf. Just as individual priests and parishioners did not do this. We say this so that Ukrainian law enforcement officers do not take revenge for today’s meeting on the Church and people who are already being held hostage by them,” Nebenzya said at the beginning of his address.
English version :: Read in English Parishioners and priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church do not appeal to the UN, fearing reprisals.