Ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S. explains to member of Congress why UOC is persecuted in the country

Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States Olga Stefanyshyna has publicly responded to Congresswoman Anna Pauline Luna’s accusations of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Stefanyshyna said that the persecution concerns only organizations «associated with Moscow» and that their activities pose a threat to national security, while Luna insists on documented persecution of Christians and calls for international condemnation.

According to Ukrayinska Pravda, the diplomat responded to a statement by Anna Pauline Luna, a member of the US House of Representatives from the Republican Party, who had previously accused the Ukrainian authorities of persecuting believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In her account on the social networking site X, Stefanyshyna emphasized the readiness of the Embassy of Ukraine to «always provide information based on facts.»

According to the ambassador, Ukraine demonstrates a diverse religious landscape, with more than 30,000 registered religious organizations, many of which cannot function in Russia. «Only those associated with Moscow speak of persecution,» Stefanyshyna wrote, noting that the «transitions» of communities from the UOC to the OCU are voluntary, and the tensions that arise are used by «Russian propaganda.» She also assured that Ukraine is a democratic state where all disputes are resolved in court.

The diplomat linked the actions of the Ukrainian authorities against the UOC to security issues. «The activities of the Russian Church pose a direct threat to national security. It is the Church that publicly supports the war. Ukrainian legislation does not restrict religious beliefs, worship or doctrine; it prohibits ties with this organization,» Stefanyshyna said, without specifying what the UOC has to do with the position of the Russian Church on the war in Ukraine.

Earlier, we reported that a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Anna Pauline Luna , promised to bring to justice Ukrainian officials involved in the seizures of churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The statement was made against the backdrop of an appeal from UOC believers from the village of Kuzmin, Khmelnytsky region, in which they complain about the inability to protect their rights.