The Patriarch of Antioch spoke in support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

His Holiness Patriarch John X, Primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, has sent a letter to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, in which he expressed his support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in connection with the adoption in Ukraine of the scandalous Law No. 8371 aimed at banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is reported by orthodoxtimes.com.

“We recently received news that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed bill No. 8371 to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, terminate its existence and deprive it of all its property. This ban amounts to a collective punishment of millions of believers whose only “sin” is that they remain faithful to the Orthodox faith received from the saints according to apostolic succession. In these difficult circumstances that your Holy Church is experiencing, we would like to assure you that our Antiochian Patriarchate stands by the side of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose faithful people are confessors and witnesses. We call upon all the faithful to offer prayers that the Lord God will sustain in faith all the hierarchs, clergy, monastics and faithful of your Church. May God give you strength and patience to endure difficulties, preserve the purity of your faith, wipe tears from your eyes and forgive your persecutors,” – the message reads.

Patriarch John added that he considers the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be the only canonical Church in Ukraine. His Holiness assured that he will continue to speak out in defense of the persecuted UOC.

“Your Beatitude, the Patriarchate of Antioch reiterates that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the only Church in Ukraine which is in Eucharistic communion with all local Orthodox Churches, has apostolic succession and valid priesthood. Thus, the attempt to ban and abolish this Church is an abolition of the oldest legitimate Orthodox Church in that country. The Patriarchate of Antioch joins the Primate of the Orthodox Churches in defense of your Church and calls for the convening of a General Council to find a comprehensive solution to the Ukrainian Church question. We again assure you that we will make every effort to raise our voice in your defense and call on all good people in this world, especially all Christian leaders, governments, international organizations and defenders of human rights and religious freedoms, to put an end to religious discrimination and violence against your Church, which is a dangerous precedent in the twenty-first century and should not be tolerated and perpetuated,” – Patriarch John X added.

We will remind, earlier the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfiry criticized the ongoing pressure and attempts to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The hierarch noted that taking advantage of the military conflict in Ukraine, the UOC wants to take away the church property and transfer it to a loyal religious structure.