"Not a word about the UOC!": AUCCRO delegation visits UK Parliament

A delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) visited the British Parliament. Representatives of the delegation informed the British parliamentarians «about the state of religious freedom in Ukraine and the crimes committed by the Russian occupation authorities in the religious sphere.» This is reported by the website of the AUCCRO.

It is reported that during the meeting, the issues of illegal arrests of clergymen, torture and murder of representatives of various faiths, destruction of churches and seizure of religious buildings were raised. Particular attention was paid to «the propaganda of the ‘Russian world’ ideology by the Russian Orthodox Church and support for Russian aggression by religious leaders of the Russian Federation.» As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed to continue communication and exchange of information.

After the visit to the Parliament, the AUCCRO delegation visited the Ukrainian Support Center and the UGCC Cathedral in London. The delegation consisted of representatives of various denominations, including OCU hierarch Yevstratiy Zoria, RCC Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, RCC Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytsky, pastors Ihor Bandura and Anatoliy Raychynets, and legal advisor to the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine Hennadiy Bilorytsky.

It is noteworthy that during their visit to the UK, members of the AUCCRO never mentioned the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and discrimination against its clergy and believers. In addition, the seizure of UOC churches and expropriation of property of the canonical Church by state authorities were left out of the discussion. These and other facts of violations of the rights of believers are deliberately concealed by representatives of the Ukrainian AUCCRO, which misleads the world community.