Earlier, it was reported that the head of the OCU in Rivne Region, Illarion Protsyk, addressed the clergy and faithful of the UOC in the region, calling on them to leave the UOC’s jurisdiction and “join” the OCU. This appeal was based on conclusions from the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, which declared the existence of “signs of affiliation” between the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis and the Russian Orthodox Church.
No one will join the OCU under duress, - secretary of the Rivne Diocese of the UOC
The secretary of the Rivne Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Viktor Zemlianyi, commented on the resolution of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience regarding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s ties with the Moscow Patriarchate. The priest noted that state pressure on the Church will not force the clergy and believers of the UOC to join the OCU. He stated this in a comment to the publication Rivne Vechirnie.
«As for the conclusion of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, I consider it biased. We understand why this was done. But no one will join the OCU at gunpoint. We have canonical norms according to which our church will operate. If the state takes away our churches, we will pray at home. If discriminatory actions go even further, we will gather on a clearing in the forest and pray there. The church has already experienced persecution in its history. But any persecuted church rises from its knees,» — the priest said.
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