"They form a community loyal to the Russian Federation": the head of the UGCC again criticized the activities of the UOC abroad

The head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, has accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of trying to «form a community loyal to Russia» among Ukrainian migrants in Germany. According to Shevchuk, pro-Russian oligarchs are helping the church to implement such a plan. This was reported by the Re-Іnform news and analysis website.

According to the head of the Ukrainian Uniates, the pro-Russian oligarchs who left Ukraine and settled in Europe, particularly in Germany, are «involved in these processes». They, «with the financial support of Russia, seek to create a community of Russian-speaking Ukrainians» that will «promote Moscow’s interests and criticize their own country.»

A special role in these actions, as Sviatoslav Shevchuk noted, is played by representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Priests of the UOC actively visit social centers abroad, where they create cells of religious life. These cells «are then used as a tool to attract Ukrainians to the newly created pro-Russian communities.»

Shevchuk called the main purpose of such activities an attempt to form «protest potential» among Ukrainian emigrants. Russia, in his opinion, seeks to make Ukrainians abroad oppose the policies of their state and promote slogans about «world peace» in the ideological context of the «Russian world».

It is worth noting that earlier the head of the UGCC Sviatoslav Shevchuk complained about the active activities of clergymen of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church abroad. Shevchuk cited Germany as an example, where, as he said, «pro-Russian oligarchs» went to pay for the missionary activities of the UOC among Ukrainian refugees who left the country due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.