Patriarch Kirill told the leaders of Russian Protestant denominations about the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

On June 18, 2024, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, held a meeting with leaders of Protestant organizations in Russia, during which the persecution of clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was discussed. Patriarch Kirill drew attention to the expropriation of church property by the state and blatant cases of criminal persecution of the UOC episcopate. This is reported by the communication service of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of the Russian Orthodox Church.

«As you know, in Ukraine today the Orthodox believers have their churches seized, criminal cases are initiated against clergy for far-fetched reasons, priests, lay men and women are subjected to physical violence, people are imprisoned, arrested just for their religious choice,» — said the First Hierarch.

Speaking about the criminal persecution of the UOC clergy, Patriarch Kirill cited the case of 75-year-old hierarch of the UOC Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskykh), who was sentenced to 5 years in prison. His Holiness said that on June 18, the appeals court upheld the decision of the court of first instance against Metropolitan Jonathan.

«Today we have witnessed unprecedented persecution in Ukraine. And it is surprising that Western «truth-tellers», defenders of human rights and religious freedom do not notice anything; these kinds of violations of human rights and religious freedom are not noticed in the West», — Patriarch Kirill emphasized.

Recall, earlier we reported that the State Service of Ukraine for Ethno-politics and Freedom of Conscience published a statement accusing the Russian Orthodox Church of aiding Russian military aggression. The SES informs that according to available information, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, is going to bring to the attention of the world religious community information about the facts of violation of the rights of clergy and believers in Ukraine, which, in the opinion of the State Service, does not correspond to reality.