The ROC urged to draw public attention to the persecution of Orthodox Christians in the post-Soviet space

on January 23, 2026, Vladimir Legoyda, Chairman of the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media, made a statement concerning the alarming trends in church-state relations and the oppression of Christians in a number of countries. In his speech on the program «Bright Evening» on Radio Vera, Legoyda focused on the importance of the December statement of the Christian Interfaith Consultative Committee, emphasizing concern about the situation not only in Ukraine, but also in Armenia, Estonia and Moldova, highlighting the «gross violation» of the rights of believers in Armenia.

According to Vladimir Legoyda, the statement of the Committee, which drew attention to the problems of Christians in these regions, deserves the closest attention of the international and expert community. He emphasized that this document is «the most important» and serves as an indicator of tension in the issues of observance of religious freedoms.

The head of the Synodal Department paid special attention to the situation in Armenia, calling the authorities’ actions against the religious community «a gross violation and interference in the life of the religious community.» Legoyda expressed bewilderment at the fact that such incidents become possible in the modern world, especially in those countries that repeatedly declare the principles of democracy, but in fact violate them in the most flagrant manner.

The guest of the program also pointed out the complex nature of the problem, including both political and religious components. According to him, it is especially alarming when government officials who publicly allow themselves such statements against the Church, while formally considered part of it, which, according to Legoyda, indicates deep contradictions in church-state relations.

Recall, earlier we reported that representatives of churches — participants of the Christian Interfaith Consultative Committee (CICC), the largest inter-Christian association in the Eurasian space, expressed deep concern over the continuing harassment and violations of Christian rights in a number of countries. The statement published on the KMCC website focuses on the situations in Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia and Armenia.