Dumenko assures international partners there is "full freedom of religion" in Ukraine

On July 3, 2025, Epiphaniy Dumenko received the Secretary General of the Community of Democracies, Mantas Adomėnas, at his residence. During the meeting, the head of the OCU once again tried to convince international institutions that there are allegedly no religious persecutions in Ukraine. This was reported by the official website of the OCU.

The parties discussed the state of religious freedom in Ukraine and Lithuania, as well as the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the context of the war. Epiphaniy emphasized that “in Ukraine, despite the war, real religious freedom is ensured,” citing the position of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches as evidence.

At the same time, the head of the OCU accused the UOC of trying to create a “distorted picture” of alleged persecution abroad, claiming that such statements are, in his words, the result of the unwillingness “to truly break ties with the religious structure of the aggressor state.”

The Community of Democracies positions itself as an intergovernmental platform dedicated to defending fundamental freedoms, including freedom of conscience and religion.

Earlier, we reported that the Greek Orthodox outlet KATANIXI criticized the OCU for holding joint religious events with Ukrainian Greek Catholics. Media attention was drawn to a recent joint “blessing” conducted by representatives of the OCU and UGCC at a construction site in the Omega Special Training Center, based in Kyiv. The authors noted that such cases are no longer rare for the OCU and once again highlight that, under the oversight of the Phanar, a plan to create a new union between Orthodox and Catholics is being implemented in Ukraine.