Attempts to legislatively restrict UOC activities will not lead to expected results, - Head of the ROC DECR

The head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, commented on the Ukrainian government’s attempts to persuade the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to unite with the OCU. The bishop is convinced that even a legislative ban on the Church will not yield the expected results in the state, as the clergy and faithful of the UOC are steadfastly and courageously enduring all the trials. Metropolitan Anthony said this in a commentary to TASS.

“Today, the bishops, clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church show courage and resilience, resisting the brutal interference of the current Ukrainian authorities in church affairs and the attempts made over the years to force the faithful of the UOC to join the schism that was created by the state with the active participation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. I am confident that no intimidation, no attempts to legislatively restrict the activities of the UOC will lead to any result, and the Church of Christ will definitely survive. I am convinced that it will go through this terrible period of trials,” — he said.

The hierarch added that the Church has repeatedly passed trials of a similar nature, so we can be sure that everything will be resolved in the situation with the Ukrainian church crisis, as it has already happened in history.

“In part, what is happening in Ukraine today is reminiscent of those tragic pages in the history of the church when it was persecuted, whether in the Roman Empire or in the recent past. There were times when one of the leaders of the Soviet state promised to show the last priest on television. Many people thought that the church was about to cease to exist. But nevertheless, it survived and continues to live,” — the Metropolitan added.

As reported, on November 17, 2024, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, met with the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije. Among the issues discussed was the Ukrainian church conflict.