Albanian Orthodox Church criticized the Ukrainian government for banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Albanian Orthodox Church has issued a statement in which it severely criticized the Ukrainian government for adopting a law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Albanian Orthodox Church believes that the adoption by democratic states of laws that directly threaten religious freedom is absolutely unacceptable. The statement is published on the official website of the Albanian Church.

“Persecution, imprisonment, desecration of places of worship, confiscation of property of churches and monasteries are cruel acts. They become even more horrible when they are imposed by the legislative bodies of democratic countries. The law 8371/24.8.2024 recently passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is clearly aimed at liquidating the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Thus, millions of Ukrainian Orthodox believers, numerous bishops, priests, monks and nuns, who are under the leadership of Metropolitan Onufry and are members of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, are being persecuted,” — the statement reads.

The AOC added that it remains in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and will support all initiatives aimed at achieving peace and abolishing the law banning the Church.

“According to the commandment of the Apostle Paul: “If one member suffers, all members suffer with him” (1 Cor. 12:26), in solidarity with our persecuted brothers, we fervently pray for the cessation of bloody hostilities, from which all the Ukrainian people suffer without exception, for the abolition of this absurd law, for peace and unity of Orthodoxy, so that it can bear its witness to the world”, — added the UOC.

We shall remind you that earlier we reported that the Primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch John X, sent a letter to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, in which he expressed 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.