Ukrainian Orthodox Church faces open persecution - Serbian Patriarch

The Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, criticized the continuous pressure and attempts to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The First Hierarch noted that taking advantage of the military conflict in Ukraine, the UOC wants to take away church property and transfer it to a loyal religious structure. Patriarch Porfirije wrote about this in a letter addressed to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the ROC DECR Communication Service reports.

“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. Its hierarchs, who not only openly and fearlessly expose the malevolence of the godless government, but in the current circumstances suffer more than others as faithful shepherds of the Church of Christ, are being involved in fabricated trials and sentenced to punishments provided for the most heinous crimes. Knowing their readiness for self-sacrifice and courage to resist all injustice, we feel a fraternal duty and obligation to testify to the whole world about their suffering, which, Your Holiness, dear brother in Christ, we always do in prayer and trust in the Lord,” – said Patriarch Porfirije.

The Primate of the Serbian Church stated that the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is taking place under the “cover” of the war in Ukraine. He believes that one of the stakeholders in this situation is the OCU, which the head of the SOC called a “pseudo-church.”

“The current conflict is being used as a pretext to implement a plan to permanently ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in order to transfer all the spiritual and material capital it has into the hands of the pseudo-church,” – the Serbian hierarch said.

His Holiness added that the Serbian Church will continue to provide prayerful and any other support to the suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its faithful children.

“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 in recent months and years by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and ultimately to take measures to put an end to this lawlessness,” – said the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, assuring of prayers for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the suffering faithful people.

Earlier, we reported that the hierarch of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Archbishop Theodosius of Sevastopol, sent a greeting message to the Primate and hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In it, Archbishop Theodosius expressed his support for the bishops, clergy and faithful of the UOC, stating that the Jerusalem Patriarchate remains committed to supporting canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine.