“We reject the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church” - hierarch of the Jerusalem Patriarchate

The hierarch of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia, made a statement in connection with the adoption on August 20, 2024 by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of Law No. 8371, aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is reported by the Communication Service of the Russian Orthodox Church’s DECR.

“The Parliament of Ukraine has made an arbitrary decision regarding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, seeking to ban it as if it were an alien and hostile entity to Ukraine; and the accusation is of a connection with the Russian Church. With these words we want to express our condemnation, protest and rejection of the arbitrary act committed by the Ukrainian Parliament under Western pressure against the ancient Church, which is the first and oldest in Ukraine — the fraternal Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is led by Metropolitan Onuphrius,” — the letter reads.

The hierarch stressed that the Jerusalem Patriarchate recognizes only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as canonical. Archbishop Theodosius called on the Local Churches to respond to the violation of the rights of believers in Ukraine and to stop the authorities’ pressure on the canonical Church.

“We want to say that we recognize only this Church, as it is the legitimate Church in Ukraine, and we do not recognize any other entities created by the West in the interests of its own goals and its own agenda. Most of the Orthodox Churches in the world recognize the official, legitimate and lawful Orthodox Church, which is headed by Vladyka Onuphrius, not forgetting some Churches that have unfortunately succumbed to Western demands and pressures, leading us to the unprecedented state of schism and division in the history of the Orthodox Church that we have today. We call on the Orthodox Churches of the world to support the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and reject the unjust decision made against it. It is important that every Orthodox Church today, and not tomorrow, dissociate itself from this unjust decision, which is a gross interference in Church affairs and a deliberate attempt to abolish an ancient Church in Ukraine that has existed for more than a thousand years. We also hope that all Christian churches in the world and human rights and humanitarian organizations will express disagreement with this unjust decision of the Ukrainian parliament, which is political in nature and was adopted under pressure to blackmail the ancient Church, which has deep historical roots in Ukraine,” — the hierarch stressed.

It should be noted that on August 25, 2024, Pope Francis made an address in which he mentioned the law No. 8371 adopted in the Ukrainian Parliament, aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The pontiff emphasized that no church in the world should be banned because it performs prayer against evil and unrighteousness.