An official from the Office of the President of Ukraine blamed the UN and the WCC over the defense of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The adviser to the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Vita Titarenko, speaking at the forum «Sustainable Europe: Forum for Countering Russian Disinformation and Propaganda» held in Brussels, accused the UN and the World Council of Churches of protecting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from persecution by the Ukrainian authorities. Titarenko believes that the criminal cases opened against UOC clerics demonstrate the urgent need to restrict the UOC’s activities in the country. Ukrinform reports the words of the official.

«Some international institutions still show a painful «shyness». World Council of Churches: Silent about abducted Ukrainian children, but actively discussing «infringement of religious freedom» with regard to the UOC in Ukraine. UN: Recently, some UN experts said that freedom of religion should not be restricted even in times of conflict, in fact ignoring the issue of national security, » Titarenko said.

The official added that the ban of the UOC in Ukraine is fully justified. As an argument, she cites the number of criminal proceedings that have been initiated by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies against clergymen of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

«We are told that national security is not a basis for restricting freedom of religion. But is freedom of faith the work of an agent network? More than 200 criminal proceedings have been opened in Ukraine against clerics of the UOC. They are tried not for prayer, but for justification of war, support of totalitarian ideologies and treason — direct surrender of defense positions of the Armed forces of Ukraine», — she added.

Recall, earlier we reported that the head of the Archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the United States, Archbishop Elpidophoros, reiterated his concern about Ukrainian Law No. 3894, saying that it poses a threat to the religious freedom of millions of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This position was voiced in the context of a meeting of Orthodox Christians with U.S. lawmakers in Washington, DC.