Metropolitan Arseniy urged the UK government to influence the president of Ukraine over the persecution of the UOC

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk, called on the British government to influence Vladimir Zelensky by increasing pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The bishop drew attention to the fact that despite all the assistance of the Church to the Ukrainian army and people in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian war, the UOC is experiencing unprecedented persecution by the authorities. This is reported by the British edition of The Independent.

“The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is undergoing great trials. Our holy churches and shrines have been destroyed, and our priests and parishioners are dying in the war. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is seeking to ban the church. Priests are being unjustly arrested, and our places of worship are being seized and taken away from us. The Ukrainian authorities unjustly accuse the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of being a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a millennial Christian denomination. Its churches and monasteries are known all over the world. We do not preach any ideology. We preach the good news of God’s promise of forgiveness of sins,” — said the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra.

The hierarch also drew attention to his unlawful imprisonment and new threats that the Sviatohirsk Lavra is at risk of experiencing due to a false information campaign against the monastery.

“Despite all the good that our monastery has done, the authorities are trying to nullify all our efforts. The government has launched a campaign to take away our monastery. In the meantime, I am being persecuted for my faith and kept in prison. In violation of the law and criminal procedure of Ukraine, I have been in prison for almost six months. The court hearings do not give any hope for respite,” — the bishop added.

Earlier, the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny, said that a new criminal proceeding was being prepared against him, which should result in a 12-year prison sentence. In addition, the bishop pointed out that the government is preparing new repressive measures against the Ascension Monastery of Bancheny of the UOC.