German Diocese of ROCOR responds to accusations against UOC by American politicians

The German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) has issued an official statement in which it sharply criticized an American congressman and the archons of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (Phanar). The document calls their statements about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) an attempt to conceal the true state of affairs in the religious life of Ukraine and to present the victims as persecutors.

According to the statement, the statements of the archons “are aimed at concealing the true situation in Ukraine,” where the facts are “diametrically opposed, and the perpetrators are identified with the victims.” The DECR emphasizes that the UOC, under the leadership of Metropolitan Onufriy, is the largest and historically legitimate church organization in the country, unlike the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was created in 2018 on the political initiative of the OCU.

The diocese reminded of the ongoing persecution of the UOC, which, according to them, is supported by the authorities. “In the eyes of the world community, churches are systematically taken away from the UOC with the help of the authorities. Believers are being persecuted, intimidated and slandered, clergy are being forcibly mobilized and sent to the front,” the text says. The authors of the statement note that even Patriarch Bartholomew himself had previously called on the Ukrainian authorities to stop violence against believers.

The document also indicates that the situation with the UOC has repeatedly raised concerns from the UN. In addition, the DECR drew attention to the fact that the activities of the OCU abroad provoke protests from other Local Churches, in particular, the Polish Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, as it violates the terms of the Tomos of autocephaly granted to it.

Concluding its appeal, the German Diocese of the ROCOR compares the methods used to the “slanderous policy of the Soviet era” and states that such actions only discredit the Patriarchate of Constantinople itself. “The lie exposes itself,” the statement reads.

As reported, the Order of the Archons of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the United States made harsh accusations against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), saying that it persecutes and attacks members of the OCU. This statement was made in response to a meeting of a delegation of US Orthodox churches with American politicians, where they discussed the plight of the canonical UOC.