The hierarchs, clergy and faithful people of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are facing open persecution, which is being mercilessly carried out against them by the Ukrainian authorities. This is stated in the letter of Holy Patriarch Porphyrios Porphyrios of Serbia, sent in response to the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, which described the blatant cases of persecution of Orthodox hierarchs, clergy and laity in Ukraine, the banning and blocking of Internet news resources that cover the religious policy of the authorities, and the preparation for the second reading of the bill No. 8371, which aims to effectively ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is facing open persecution by the Ukrainian authorities.
«Instead of trying with all their might to stop the armed conflict between two brotherly peoples, born into eternal life in one baptismal font, the villains, driven by the poisonous hatred of the evil one, do not stop trying to destroy the last bastion of their unity in the love of the Lord — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, — believes Patriarch Porphyry. — Its hierarchs, who not only openly and fearlessly expose the malevolence of the godless authorities, but in the present circumstances suffer more than others as faithful shepherds of the Church of Christ, are subjected to trumped-up trials and sentenced to the penalties prescribed for the most heinous crimes. Their unwavering zeal in faith and service to the people of God is most accurately expressed by the words of the holy martyr Ignatius the Theotokos: I am the wheat of God. Let the teeth of beasts grind me up, that I may become the pure bread of Christ. Knowing their readiness for self-sacrifice and courage to resist all injustice, we feel a fraternal duty and obligation to bear witness before the whole world to their sufferings, which, Your Holiness, dear brother in Christ, we always do in prayer and trust in the Lord
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With great regret, the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church stated that the lamentations of the Orthodox Ukrainian people, faithful to their canonical Church, do not reach those in whose hands the power is concentrated and who are able to influence the rulers of Ukraine to stop the persecution and anti-church terror, which are gaining more and more ground.
The current conflict «is being used as an excuse to implement a plan to finally ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in order to transfer all the spiritual and material capital it possesses into the hands of a pseudo-church», Patriarch Porfiry noted. He expressed fear that under these circumstances the current plight of our Orthodox brothers will continue to worsen, and recalled the importance of a peaceful resolution of the armed conflict.
«We will continue to strive at every opportunity to draw the attention of the Christian and international community to their suffering, calling on all influential institutions to stop turning a blind eye to all the atrocities committed over the past months and years by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and finally take measures to put an end to this lawlessness»— emphasized the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, assuring prayers for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the suffering faithful people.
«The eternal Logos of God, who has risen from the dead, may He shower abundant blessings on the long-suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its Mother, the Most Holy Russian Orthodox Church, and to you, Your Holiness, as well as to the entire hierarchy, clergy and faithful, may He send down every good gift from His never-failing and eternal sacristy!» — stated in the letter of His Holiness Patriarch Porphyrios of Serbia.
EVCS Communication Service/Patriarchy.ru
