They illegally call themselves the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Epiphany about the UOC

On July 10, 2024, the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, delivered a keynote speech at the tenth closed meeting of the LB.ua Club. Dumenko devoted a significant part of his speech to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, trying to argue that the activities of the UOC on the territory of Ukraine are “illegal.” Dumenko accused the Primate of the UOC of being committed to the “Russian world” and the Church itself of not having the right to be called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The speech of the head of the OCU was published by LB.ua.

“Only one structure, which illegally calls itself the ‘Ukrainian Orthodox Church’ and is headed by Metropolitan Onufriy Berezovsky of the Russian Orthodox Church, a man who was formed and raised entirely in the spirit of the teachings of the ‘Russian world’ – this structure retains institutional subordination to Moscow. More than two years ago, they held a so-called council in Feofaniya and declared that they were now allegedly independent of the ROC. However, no documentary evidence was provided, only public statements. Instead, the cases show that this structure has been and remains united with the Moscow center and through it Moscow influences Ukrainian society by carrying out hybrid aggression,” – Dumenko said.

The head of the OCU added that the clergy and believers of the UOC are victims of the Stockholm syndrome, so they should be “liberated” by adopting Law No. 8371, aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“As victims of the Stockholm syndrome, the leaders and supporters of the MP in Ukraine find various excuses that they should be under the rule of the MP and that it is a good thing. And as a victim of domestic violence, even in the face of Russia’s destruction of their churches, their faithful continue to believe that Moscow really loves them so much and is thus concerned about their welfare. When the victim is unable to free himself from the perpetrator, he must be freed, even if he is powerless or even resists. When the structure of the so-called UOC proved incapable of its own actions, as all other religious organizations in Ukraine have proved incapable, the state and society must help and protect themselves on the spiritual front from the aggression of the Russian world. The law, which has been discussed for several years, is vital. It is like a law prohibiting slavery. It is like a law prohibiting domestic violence. This law is the only way to protect freedom of religion for those who cannot and do not want to protect it by voluntarily serving Moscow,” – said the head of the OCU.

Earlier, the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, characterized the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as “elderly women who support Putin.” Dumenko is convinced that only 4% of the “spiritually drugged” population in Ukraine identify themselves as members of the UOC.