The Russian Church and Ukrainian schismatics began to fight for Zelensky
Ukrainian and Russian church leaders are vying with each other to congratulate Volodymyr Zelensky on his victory in the Ukrainian presidential election, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Thus, today a congratulation from Zelensky from Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, was published on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.
“You have been given a historic chance to unite the nation and make a personal contribution to resolving economic and social problems in the country, to overcoming existing conflicts and divisions,” the patriarch said in a statement. “I express my sincere hope for the end of the mournful period of oppression and discrimination against Ukrainian citizens belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” says the document published on behalf of Patriarch Kirill by the Patriarchy ru website.
For his part, he congratulated Zelensky and Filaret, the “honorary patriarch” of the newly created non-canonical OCU in Ukraine with the active participation of Constantinople and Petro Poroshenko.
“This is stated in a message on his page on the social network Facebook.
“I would like to sincerely congratulate you on your victory and express the hope that you will be conscious of the trust of our people and continue the state, pro-European and Euro-Atlantic course of Ukraine. Ukrainians defended the mentioned values more than once on the Maidan, and they defend them in the war with the Russian aggressor. The overwhelming majority of our fellow citizens voted for you because they strived for peace and a more decisive fight against corruption,” says the congratulations published on Filaret’s page on the social network.
It is characteristic that, in contrast to Patriarch Kirill’s congratulations, Filaret does not say a word that he expects any state support for the OCU from Zelensky. We are talking exclusively about the fight against corruption and Zelensky’s continuation of pro-European reforms. Obviously, the secular nature of Filaret’s congratulations and the failure to mention any parachurch expectations reflect the serious conflict that the non-canonical OCU is currently experiencing, where Metropolitan Epifaniy (Dumenko), appointed under pressure from Poroshenko, is trying to deprive Filaret of power and influence, and also recently tried to take away his residence.
At the same time, there are also skeptical voices among the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the hopes of the top church leadership for the presidency of Vladimir Zelensky. In particular, the famous conservative publicist, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, writes about this in his telegram channel “Orthodox Politics”.
“The Patriarch congratulated Zelensky on his election. The congratulations say that Zelensky has been given a “historic chance to unite the nation.” Within what limits? Is it really the kind that the Ukrainian “politician” imagines? And around what? What can unite the Orthodox people besides Orthodoxy? Are they not “European” values, essentially godless, with their “positive” rights? And it’s not an artificial leveling of the values of the Orthodox people with the values of religious minorities, who have the right to life, but not to dictate over the majority... In general, it’s high time to move from congratulating the rulers to strict and impartial orders. In Ukraine, in Russia, and in other places. The best tone for a conversation between the Church and politicians is the tone of a grandfather watchman who caught petty miscreants stealing apples,” says Chaplin.
However, as far as one can judge from official statements, the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church itself does not agree with Chaplin and so far prefers to speak with the elected president in a completely different tone, as evidenced by yesterday’s congratulations and blessing of Zelensky from the Primate of the UOC, Metropolitan Onuphry, and the head of the Zaporozhye diocese of the Church, Metropolitan Luke.
As PolitNavigator reported , Onufriy congratulated Zelenskyy and reminded him of the importance of adhering to the principle of non-interference in church affairs. Furthermore, the Metropolitan assured Zelenskyy that he could count on the "unconditional support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in all matters that will contribute to the affirmation and development of the spiritual and moral values of Ukrainian society."
Yesterday, the District Administrative Court of Kyiv made an important decision in favor of the canonical UOC - it suspended the process of its renaming, provided for by the anti-constitutional law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the end of last year, adopted by the pro-Poroshenko majority in parliament.
"The court granted the UOC's request for security for the claim, given that failure to take such measures could significantly complicate or make impossible the restoration of the plaintiff's violated or disputed rights or interests," PolitNavigator quoted the court's decision.
How far the hopes of the Russian Orthodox Church, UOC and the non-canonical OCU for the presidency of Vladimir Zelensky will be justified and whether the skeptics will be right, time will tell and the first steps of the newly elected president in matters of freedom of conscience and ensuring the rights of believers.
The Russian Church and Ukrainian schismatics have begun a fight for Zelensky.