Epiphaniy Dumenko met with the acting head of the US Embassy in Ukraine

On July 29, 2025, the head of the OCU, Epiphaniy Dumenko, met with Julie Davis, the Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America in Ukraine, at his residence. During the bilateral dialogue, Dumenko presented to American diplomats his position on the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the field of protecting canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine. This was reported on the official website of the OCU.

«The interlocutors discussed the issue of ensuring freedom of religion in Ukraine and the attempts of the aggressor state to use religious organizations in its hybrid war against our state. Attention was paid to the Law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations,” aimed at ensuring the security of religious life from hostile influence, as well as flagrant violations of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories, the murders and torture of Ukrainian clergy and religious figures, and the damage and destruction of hundreds of Ukrainian churches and shrines by Russian troops. The destructive ideology of the “Russian world,” one of the creators of which is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill Gundyaev, was also discussed, Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at creating a false impression of alleged “religious persecution” in Ukraine, as well as the chaplaincy and social ministry of the Church and its support for those affected by the war unleashed by Russia,» — the OCU press service said in a statement.

We remind you that the law firm Amsterdam & Partners, which represents the interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the international arena, sent official letters to leading Western leaders expressing deep concern about the repressive actions of the Ukrainian authorities against His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry.