The European Parliament raised the issue of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Bulgarian MEP Petr Volgin at a meeting of the special commission of the European Shield for Democracy drew attention to the systematic persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by the Kiev authorities. According to him, laws are being adopted in the country to ban the largest Christian denomination and attacks on its clergy and parishioners. This is reported by the publication “GLASOVE”.

While discussing the issue of “Russian influence” on the clergy in the former Soviet bloc countries, Petro Volgin shifted the discussion to the situation with the UOC. He emphasized that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is the largest in the country, has been persecuted for three and a half years, and its churches have been taken away in favor of a “church structure” close to the Ukrainian government.

The MEP cited several incidents as examples of persecution. In particular, he mentioned the attack by masked armed men on the cathedral in Cherkassy on October 17, 2024, as a result of which Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkassy was seriously injured. Also noted were the placing of Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhya under house arrest on May 7, 2024, and the brutal beating of a vicar bishop on the grounds of the Banchensky Monastery on January 22, 2024.

The politician said that this is only a small part of the many cases of pressure on the clergy and believers of the UOC. He recalled that a year ago a special law was adopted in Ukraine, which created legal grounds for a complete ban of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which, according to Volgin, is the ultimate goal of the authorities.

In conclusion, Petro Volgin referred to Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which guarantees freedom of religion. He asked a rhetorical question whether Kiev’s actions against the UOC are in line with the EU principles, especially in the context of Ukraine’s aspirations for membership in the union.

We will remind, earlier the head of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov told about the reaction of US President Donald Trump to the information that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is banned in Ukraine. According to Lavrov, Trump was amazed at what he heard.