Patriarchs and Bishops Against the Persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Onuphrius has been the first hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since 17 Aug, 2014. His Church has been the only recognized jurisdiction in Ukraine for more than 1000 years, initially belonging to the Patriarch of Constantinople, then to the Patriarch of Moscow. In 2019, an unrecognized breakaway sect of men without ordinations started proclaiming themselves the true Orthodox Church of Ukraine and seizing upon the nationalist sympathies of the Ukrainian government and propagandizing on the Russian war in Ukraine in order to delegitimize the canonical Church in Ukraine and Metropolitan Onuphrius. The government is stealing the Churches and giving them to the schismatics. Radicals are attacking priests. Laymen loyal to the Church are having their limbs ripped off of them. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is under attack, and now central monastery of Ukraine is at threat of being taken away. The Kiev Caves Lavra is the largest monastery of the UOC, and the government has instructed our Church to remove themselves, monks and clergy, by 29 March 2023. The monks and clergy have not left and the people are standing between the police and the Kiev Caves to protect them. The government has now passed a law, Bill 8371, to prohibit the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Patriarchs and Bishops of the world have taken notice of this persecution and have raised their voice. Their words will be collected here.
Patriarchate of Antioch
“Your Beatitude Onuphrius Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
With joyful sorrow, we embrace you in the Lord during these days of the Great Fast, as we prepare for our Lord’s Death and Resurrection. We write to you at this difficult moment in the history of the venerable Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a moment that calls to mind the words of the Holy Apostle Paul: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).
With great pain of heart, we observe from afar the persecution that you and your holy Church are enduring for the sake of Christ. While we are physically a long distance away from you, we are near to you in spirit, and we extend our hand to you at this dark hour: you and your flock are in our constant prayers as we implore the Lord for the quick cessation of this tragic war and the end of all threats to your holy Church.
May the Lord grant you wisdom and strength to endure, “for he that shall endure to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).”
Patriarch John X of Antioch, 27 March 2023
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(Letter to Metropolitan Onuphrius of Ukraine in response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
Your Beatitude Onuphrius Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)
We have recently received the news that the Ukrainian Parliament adopted Bill №8371 on banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, preventing Her from existence and depriving Her of all Her property. This ban amounts to a collective punishment inflicted upon millions of believers whose only “sin” is that they remain loyal to the Orthodox faith received from the saints according to the apostolic succession.
In this difficult circumstance that your Holy Church is going through, we would like to assure you that our Patriarchate of Antioch stands by the side of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose faithful people are confessors and witnesses. We call upon all believers to offer prayers that the Lord God may sustain in the faith all your Church’s hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and faithful. May God give you strength and patience to endure hardship, maintain the purity of the faith, wipe all tears from your eyes, and forgive your persecutors.
Your Beatitude: The Patriarchate of Antioch reiterates that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the only Church in Ukraine that is in Eucharistic communion with all local Orthodox Churches, enjoying apostolic succession and valid priesthood. Thus, the attempt to ban and abolish this Church is an abolition to the oldest legitimate Orthodox Church in this country.
The Patriarchate of Antioch joins the primates of the Orthodox Churches in defending your Church and calling for a meeting of a General Council in order to find a comprehensive solution to the Ukrainian ecclesiastical issue. We assure you again that we will spare no effort in raising our voices for you and appealing to all the good people in this world, especially to all Christian leaders, governments, international organizations, and defenders of human rights and religious freedoms, for putting an end to the religious discrimination and violence occurring against your Church, a matter which constitutes a dangerous precedent in the twenty first century and which should not be tolerated and perpetuated.
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way! The Lord be with you all!” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
Damascus, 24 August 2024.
John X
Patriarch of Antioch and all the East
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“Appeal for the decision on the Kiev Caves Monastery
The Antiochian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and Central Europe is grieved by the decision to close the Kiev Caves Lavra, which is a holy site of the Orthodox Church.
The Caves Monastery was a center of Orthodoxy in the Middle Ages and is still of great importance to Orthodox Christians today. After the collapse of the monastery during the period of militant atheism, it was the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that rebuilt the holy monastery in 1988.
The clergy and monks strive and work hard to maintain the monastery. It’s therefore regrettable that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been deprived of permission to serve in this holy place.
Therefore, I call on all those involved to help ensure that the monks and clergy be allowed to continue their spiritual life in the Caves Lavra.
At the same time, I also ask all my brethren in our Sister Churches to raise their prayers.
Let the lamp of prayer continue to burn in the Kiev Caves Lavra so that the faithful can come there unhindered, participate in the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and venerate the saints of the Caves.
We pray and hope that this decision can be reversed with God’s help and the goodwill of all parties involved.”
Metropolitan Isaac of Germany, 23 March 2023
Patriarchate of Jerusalem
(In response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
Though we are many, we are one body. The words of Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians are a simple but direct reminder of the holy calling of the Church for unity. It is in this spirit that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, along with many of our fellow Patriarchs as well as other Heads of Church, condemn the passing of a new law by the Parliament of Ukraine on 20 August to ban the worship UOC churches. Such a blanket punishment of countless faithful men and women does not promote unity, nor does it promote peace. There is no justification to weaponize religious belief practice and we all must allow those who wish to pray to do so in a manner that accords with their conscience, and we urge the Ukrainian Parliament to reconsider and repeal this law for the sake of the well-being of all people of faith in Ukraine.
Our hearts break for those who have suffered, who have been displaced, and who have lost their lives in the present war, but out of this pain must not emerge a new schism among the faithful or the criminalization of innocent people because of their religious practice. As we have said repeatedly since the start of this conflict, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem recognizes the challenges and deep divisions that this conflict represents, and is committed to the spiritual mission of dialogue and reconciliation through fraternal discussions. We believe that this is the only road to enduring peace between warring factions as well as to true unity in the Church. Once again, we continue to reach out the hand of brotherhood to Christians throughout the Orthodox Church, that we may bring an end to the suffering and promote healing and unity within our beloved Orthodox Church.
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, 3 September 2024
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“We demand the end of the systematic persecution that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is subjected to by the rulers of Kiev. We consider the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as persecution of the whole Church, where there are threats of evacuating bishops, fathers and monks from the Lavra Monastery in Kiev, which is the ancient historical administration associated with the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by the Sovereign Metropolitan Onuphrius, is subjected to systematic campaigns in which there is a lot of incitement and targeting; the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is not a part of the political conflict, not a part of an existing war, but its message has always been a message of love, brotherhood and peace. We call for an urgent Orthodox movement to stop this persecution. The sovereign Metropolitan Onuphrius is a holy man of God who repeatedly visited us in Jerusalem and is characterized by his humility, spirituality and wisdom, which is still held to this day and in the darkest circumstances in that historic administration associated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We salute the spiritual references that demanded the end of this persecution and we hope that there will be a stronger deterrent movement for the rulers of Kiev who are acting hostile to this church and inciting it based on the instructions of their masters. We do not recognize the legitimacy of any entity created in Ukraine to be a substitute for the legitimate Orthodox Church, and we call on the Christian world and the whole civilized world to work to stop this systematic persecution. Parents are still in their administration and will not leave it even if this leads to their martyrdom, and we warn of the danger that the rulers of Kiev will use violence to get priests out of their offices, silks and churches.”
Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia, 27 March 2023
Patriarchate of Moscow
(In response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
On August 20, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed in the second reading the bill “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activity of Religious Organizations” that allows, through judicial proceedings, to ban activities of any religious community in the territory of Ukraine if it is “affiliated” with a religious organization in Russia. For the court to give such a ruling, conclusions of a “religious expertise” will suffice, which amid the ongoing witch hunt may and will be falsified.
Those who initiated and endorsed this bill in Ukraine — highest-ranking public officials, the Verkhovna Rada deputies, radical politicians and public figures, representatives of schismatic organizations and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — do not conceal that the law directly targets the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, that it is aimed at liquidating it and all its communities or at forcibly transferring them to other religious organizations. Hundreds of monasteries, thousands of communities, and millions of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine will find themselves outside the legal framework and lose their property and places of worship.
During the period of 2014–2023, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church pointed out on many occasions that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church came under pressure which was undoubtedly part of the government anti-religious policy. The adoption of the law today indicates the powerlessness of the regime, which throughout its political existence has been systematically, step by step trying to weaken, split, and destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The primate of the Russian Orthodox Church repeatedly appealed to the UN, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe, as well as leaders of world religious communities, bearing witness to the persecutions against believers in Ukraine. While the violations of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church members were acknowledged by many experts and human rights organizations in the West, it has not prevented the adoption of the bill which shatters the very idea of the freedom of conscience and fundamental human rights.
For many years, the policy of persecution against the Church has been carried out against a backdrop of the slanderous anti-Church campaign in the Ukrainian mass media aimed at defaming canonical Orthodoxy, as well as instigating and justifying mass seizures of churches called “voluntary transfers.” The seizures are orchestrated by the proponents of the schism and radical nationalists with support from the local authorities, security services ,and law enforcement bodies, and usually entail violence, including mass beatings of the clergy and the faithful. Attempts are being made, and some have succeeded, to seize the largest monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and forcibly evict their inhabitants.
Ukrainian security services continue to put outright pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its episcopate, and clergy. Apart from threats and blackmail, this pressure has manifested itself in dozens of trumped-up criminal cases and unlawful verdicts on political grounds. Many hierarchs and pastors of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been arrested, taken into custody, or received unjust sentences.
In a number of Ukrainian regions and localities, local authorities have imposed a downright “ban” on the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, forcibly closing its churches, hindering celebration of divine services, and illegally confiscating plots of land on which monasteries and churches are built.
Having failed in its attempts to weaken the canonical Church in Ukraine or undermine its unity, the local government has taken a step towards its outright ban.
In its scale and centralized nature, this measure can surpass all former historical repressions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including persecutions at the time of the Greek Catholic Union of Brest, and is commensurable to such sorrowful historical precedents as Nero’s and Diocletian’s persecutions in the Roman Empire, the so-called dechristianization of France during the 18th-century French Revolution, atheistic repressions in the Soviet Union, and destruction of the Albanian Orthodox Church under Enver Hoxha’s regime in the 1960s.
The adopted bill is incompatible with the principles of the rule of law; it is a political declaration aimed at legalizing the destruction of the religious community of the majority of the population. The law lays down criteria enabling to determine a group of people connected by their affiliation with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and carry out targeted political repressions against them.
It is with particular bitterness that we must note the negative role of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the hierarchs who hold the same views. Through their unilateral and hasty actions inconsistent with the spirit of the sacred canons, they have only exacerbated the Church schism in Ukraine, having failed to heal it. The leaders of the schismatics recognized by the Phanar have been particularly furious in demanding the adoption of the law that practically bans the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And Patriarch Bartholomew, who earlier publicly expressed approval for the criminal prosecution against and arrests of the UOC hierarchs and clergymen, now, like high priests Annas and Caiaphas, has openly supported the government’s actions aimed at crucifying and destroying the canonical Church in Ukraine. Therefore, the Patriarch of Constantinople is personally responsible for orchestrating the persecutions against the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
We firmly believe that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church of Christ (Mt 16:18), just like the most severe persecutions failed to do in the past, and that the Orthodox Christians in Ukraine will confront these new ordeals with fortitude and steadfastness and in all these things will be more than conquerors through Jesus Who loved us (Rom 8:37). We call upon the plenitude of the Orthodox world to pray ever more fervently for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which is abiding in afflictions on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus (Rev 1:9).
We appeal to international human rights organizations to give an immediate and unbiased response to the flagrant oppression of the faithful in Ukraine.
Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, 22 August 2024
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“We would like to express our support, respect, and love for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and the holy brotherhood of the Monastery of the Caves, which is at the cradle of the Orthodox faith in Kievan Rus’. The monks of our brotherhood make before you a deep bow, a poklon, and from the depths of our hearts we assure you of our prayers, our support, and concern in the difficult situation you must navigate at this time. Christ is Risen, and with this sure knowledge we dare to hope that you may be confirmed in your historic residence. We pray that the authorities will permit you to enjoy religious freedom and to continue your age-old way of life in your monastery. We wish you all joy and all peace in this Pascha with great hope that you’ll be left in the place of refuge which God has chosen for your repentance. May God bless you. We see the wars and rumors of the wars and the tyranny, which comes from the lust for power, being used to torment and oppress people. Think of what’s going on in Ukraine. The monks of the Kiev Caves Lavra being thrown out of this holy monastery, which they have continuously occupied for over 1,000 years. How the government and its agencies got a hold of one of the churches, the biggest of the churches of the Lavra and held a rock concert in it to celebrate their victory over Orthodoxy and over Jesus Christ. Your tax dollars at work. So, brothers and sisters, let us not live by lies.”
Metropolitan Jonah of All America and Canada, 29 March 2023
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“Having gathered in Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, for the Lenten retreat and conference of clergy of the northern deaneries of the Eastern American Diocese, we, clergy and monastics, having bowed down in worship before the Cross, communed of the Holy Mysteries, and honored the memory of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, raised up our prayers for the flock entrusted to us. We prayed especially for our persecuted brothers and sisters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by His Beatitude Onuphrius, Metropolitan of Kiev & All Ukraine. As citizens of the United States — founded 250 years ago on the principles of religious rights and freedoms — we ask all of the Orthodox Christians living in this country, as well as its politicians, representatives of various governmental institutions and social organizations, to raise their voices in defense of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, her archpastors, clergy, monastics, and the millions of parishioners who have been subjected to years of persecution by their own government. Having learned of the closure of the Near and Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra — the cradle of Orthodoxy in Rus’ ‒ and the looming eviction of all of its monks and inhabitants, including the students of the Kiev Theological Schools ‒ we express our vigorous protest against the actions of the Ukrainian government toward the canonical Church, which nourishes the overwhelming majority of that country’s citizens. Archpriest Paul Kang’s report on the state of the Korean Mission of the Russian Church Abroad, reactivated by the Synod of Bishops in 1994, inspired us and planted in the hearts of retreat participants hope for its further success. We call on everyone to once more take an interest in this Mission’s history and current affairs. The report by Bishop Luke of Syracuse, abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery, was received with great interest, touching on life at the monastery, reconstruction efforts, and planned projects. A series of presentations by the administrators of Holy Trinity Seminary, including Dean Nicolas Schidlovsky, acquainted us with the life and various spheres of activity of this theological center, as it prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary. Concelebration with our archpastors, joint prayer, and brotherly interaction strengthened us not only in the bearing of our Lenten struggles, but also in our service to God and man. Returning with renewed vigor to our places of service, we sincerely wish that our parishioners and worshippers might worthily and righteously greet and spend the coming Passion Week and Holy Pascha!”
Metropolitan Nicholas of New York and Eastern America and Bishop Luke of Syracuse, 22 March 2023
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“Dear Brothers and Sisters:
It is with pain that we are compelled to report on new persecutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Suspected of a lack of loyalty to her state and people, she is subjected to brutal searches, her property is being confiscated and new laws threaten to entirely ban her very existence despite her centuries-long history, her contribution to the spiritual development of the nation, and despite the millions of citizens who are her members.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is the most populated (1) and historically the most ancient Church in Ukraine, and, as is the majority of the country, for many centuries bound with Russia. Under the Russophobic governments which followed the “Orange Revolution,” the UOC has come under increased political pressure, she is unfairly targeted and called a pro-Russian political organization despite the fact that she was and is an independent Church, devoted to the Ukrainian people.
Under the pretext of the circumstances of the terrible war, true Christians, though themselves citizens of Ukraine, are denounced as enemies of the state! The aim of some politicians, it seems, is the forced institutionalization of a new nationalistic and politically-controlled ecclesiastical structure. Over recent weeks, attacks on the freedom of conscience and religion in Ukraine have escalated:
1) Discrimination: on 11/22/2922, Petro Poroshenko’s party “European Solidarity” introduced Bill № 8221 (2), calling specifically for the use of the term “Orthodox Christian” solely to the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU), the creation of which was the personal project of Poroshenko himself, and is a highly-controversial entity throughout the Orthodox world and for many reasons canonically illegitimate. At the same time, all ecclesiastical and religious institutions which in any way could be connected to the “Russian Orthodox Church” may be banned. This corresponds to the narrative used against the UOC. Over recent years over 500 churches of the UOC have already been seized and transferred to the “OCU” (usually under pressure from local authorities and often by use of violence on the part of extremist right-wing groups).
2) Denunciations, searches: Since the end of November, searches of church buildings, monasteries and churches conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) since October 2022 have massively expanded and expanded in many dioceses. For instance, Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra, one of the leading and historically-important monasteries in the Orthodox Christian world in general, was ransacked for over a week, leaving behind disorder and great material loss. During these searches, the mass media often published false reports that alleged “proof of hostile actions” of the UOC were discovered. Metropolitan Melety of Chernovtsi was blatantly told on 11/25/2022 that he will be left unmolested if he transfers to the OCU. Meanwhile, during a 12-hour search, he was already declared by the mass media to be “an enemy of the state.” Such actions have occurred dozens of times since the end of November and continue unabated.
3) The thread of prohibition: on 12/1/2022, instructions were issued by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky:
a) Parliament must within 2 months draft and adopt a law banning all religious organizations which might be connected with the Russian Federation.
b) The State Ethnopolitical Service and Freedom of Conscience must be directly subjected to the central state executive organs, that is, to the government. Consequently, all local government administrations must be subjected to this department, into which authority also fall matters of the freedom of conscience and faith and activities of religious organizations.
c) Over the following 2 months the government must examine “the presence of the rights and observation of the use by religious organizations of property on the territory of the National Kiev-Caves Historical-Cultural Monument.” The Kiev-Caves Lavra, which in 1926 was turned by the communists into a historical-cultural museum upon the liquidation of monasticism, was through the efforts of the legitimate UOC in the 1990’s reestablished as a monastery. Now it is once again threatened by separation in some measure from the Church, even if not completely confiscated. In 1990, the faithful already had to resist the forced seizure by the nationalistic party “Rukh.”
4) A video appeal by the president: That same day, 12/1/2022, President Zelensky declared in public that the National Security Council supports the proposed law of the prohibition of religious organizations which may be influenced by the Russian Federation (likely №8221, above).
5) Provocation and schism: On 12/2/2022, the aforementioned “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” registered a new legal entity under the official name of “Holy Dormition Kiev-Caves Lavra (Men’s Monastery)” with an address on the same street that Kiev-Caves Lavra is located, but with the address number of 14 instead of 15.
6) Sanctions against individual citizens: On 12/3/2022, sanctions were announced against 7 bishops of the UOC, 2 retired bishops, and against Protodeacon Vadim Novinsky. The sanctions include the freezing of accounts, the prohibition of travel within Ukraine and the prohibition of the rental of government property (including church structures).
How do such actions correspond to liberal-democratic values, to religious liberty? We call upon all our fellow citizens, the Church and politicians not to close their eyes but to lift their voices and demand the restoration and observance of elementary human rights in Ukraine.”
Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany, 22 December 2022
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“To the Flock and to All Concerned Persons, Concerning the Persecution of Christians in Ukraine, Conscience does not permit me to remain silent over the grave and new injustices being wrought in the sacred land of Ukraine, adding sorrow upon sorrows as the grief of war is now conjoined with the tragedy of the most extraordinary and heartless persecution of Christians taking place in many parts of the country. While such persecution has been a reality already for many years, it has reached a pitch in recent days with new injustices being enacted in flagrant violation of Ukrainian law and international conventions on human rights. In the present season of Great Lent, all Christians are called to examine their hearts and consciences, to discern what is good and what is sinful within themselves and in the world around them. In such a period of tragedy, this is all the more essential. Our position against the war presently being waged between Russia and Ukraine has been clear from the outset: bloodshed is evil, warfare is always a sign of man’s degradation, and the current war, which forces brother to draw his own brother’s blood and pits Orthodox Christians against fellow Orthodox Christians, ought to be opposed by all those of Christian conscience. I renew my appeal for all clergy and faithful of our Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe to continue in the path of aid that has been exemplified so powerfully amongst you since the war began: continue operating food banks in the parishes, to aid refugees; continue to raise funds and material supplies for those suffering in Ukraine itself; continue to welcome refugees from the war into your communities, homes, schools and hearts; continue to show love and piety towards all who are suffering. Work for peace in all things; pray without ceasing for the bloodshed to end. Yet we cannot permit the tragedy of war to excuse, or render us blind towards, the appalling persecutions taking place within Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by the pious Metropolitan Onuphrius and his brotherhood of faithful hierarchs and clergy, strive for nothing but to worship God in peace and care for all the people of their homeland with open hearts and a simple, powerful faith. Yet in response to their apolitical love, they are receiving the most vicious attacks. Attempts by outside entities to politicise Church life by falsely linking the autonomous Ukrainian Church — which is independent and not under the thumb of any foreign entities — to political, military or state powers abroad is as false as it is malicious; attempts to set up a new ‘Ukrainian’ false Church, under the influence of a patriarchate in Turkey and flagrantly political in orientation, is deceptive and a wound to Christ and His flock. And in the current days, even the peace-loving monks of the Dormition Lavra in Kiev are being threatened with eviction: having already been evicted from one part of the monastery just before the Nativity of Christ, the monks are now threatened with complete expulsion from the monastery grounds by the end of the present month. The incorrupt relics of the saints kept in the monastery — most of whom laboured and toiled spiritually in Ukraine — are being referred to by Government officers as ‘museum exhibitions’; schismatic false-Orthodox individuals are being brought in to desecrate Holy Altars with profane, non-Orthodox rites in mockery of the Church; priests are being evicted from nearby parish churches; peace-loving leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being groundlessly, illegally sanctioned; hierarchs are being intimidated with deprivation of citizenship and deportation, seminarians with eviction from their schools and academies, and the faithful with the stripping away of their canonical Church life. Brothers and sisters, the last time the world saw such heinous persecution of Christians, the last time we heard such blasphemous words and witnessed the promulgation of such lies and and open hatred, was in the Soviet period — which, I call all to remember, was that of the fiercest persecution against Christians the world has ever witnessed, producing more martyrs for Christ in the twentieth century than in nearly the whole of Christian history before it. Shall the world stand by now, silently, as the same begins again in the twenty-first? Can any human person, whatever his or her personal religious beliefs or political persuasion, claim to stand for peace in the face of war, and at the same time pass over in silence the attacks and evils being undertaken against innocent Christians who have nothing to do with the war, but are being made its victims in even greater degree by persecutions within their own homeland? The monks of the Lavra are not politicians, they are not enemies of any state or any people; they are humble individuals who have chosen a life of self-renunciation in following God, preserving the spiritual heritage of a site that has been sacred to Ukrainian Orthodox Christians — and Orthodox all across the world — for more than a millennium. They pray for all; they care for their fellow countrymen and pilgrims. The rise early in the morning to sing songs of praise to God Who created the world in peace; they stay awake late into the night in long vigils, praying for that peace and the reign of God’s mercy. I call upon all those with any means of acting, to act in support of those being so unjustly persecuted before the eyes of the whole world. Continue to oppose the war, and join to this goal the earnest need to stop these tragedies. Speak to your political representatives, and make them aware of what is taking place and the need to put an end to it. Telephone your members of parliament, senators and congressmen; speak in contexts where you yourselves can raise the awareness of such matters. Appeal to all and to any who will hear, that peace must reign, freedom of religion must be protected, and the propagandist use of a tragic war to justify additional tragedies cannot be tolerated. To all pious Christians, above all I exhort you to pray. Pray to our Almighty God that He will work a miracle amongst His pious flock in Ukraine. Pray that He will strengthen Metropolitan Onuphrius and all the leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Pray that He will comfort the suffering faithful. Pray that they will feel the support of our love and the openness of our hearts to be united to them in their suffering. And to the faithful children of this Diocese, I instruct that every parish is to serve a moleben with the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God — to whose dormition the Kiev Lavra is dedicated — every week with immediate effect, lifting up at its end the prayer for the end of civil strife in the Ukrainian lands. Those faithful who cannot make it into the churches for the service should pray it in their homes, in front of their holy icons, with their family and children gathered around them. Those who can do so every day, should make this sacrifice for our brethren. And on Wednesday 29th March, the day on which the Ukrainian state has said it will enforce its eviction of the monks from the Lavra and on which the Church especially repents through the recitation of the Great Canon of St Andrew, every parish is to serve a moleben to all the saints of the Kiev-Caves Lavra, with the prayer offered on bended knee; and every faithful Christian should be encouraged to fast strictly for the entire day. By prayer and fasting, the good intentions of the pious shall be heard by our loving God. May God save His people, and bless His inheritance!”
Bishop Irenaeus of London and Western Europe, 20 March 2023
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“We, the archpastors and members of the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, expressing with brotherly love support to the hierarchs, clergymen, monastics and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the current difficult time of trials, on behalf of the Orthodox believers of the Republic of Belarus, declare our general concern about the current state of affairs of the canonical Orthodox Church in the territory Ukraine. The actions of the Ukrainian authorities, systematically carried out against the only canonical Orthodox Church in the country, cause bewilderment and sorrow. Encroachments on the common shrine for our fraternal peoples — the Holy Dormition Kiev-Caves Lavra — one of the greatest spiritual centers not only of Ukrainian, but also of world Orthodoxy, respond with particular pain in the hearts of believers. That is why the news that the abbot of this holy monastery received an order from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine on the eviction of the inhabitants of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Caves Lavra before March 29, 2023 shook the clergy, monastics and laity of the Belarusian Orthodox Church to the core. Our common ancestors, both modern Belarusians and modern Ukrainians, who received Holy Baptism from the common Kiev font for us, invariably walked side by side, supporting each other, at all times of our joint centuries-old path of historical, spiritual and cultural development. Our peoples, driven by the power of the Orthodox faith and fraternal love, having a common historical memory, together resisted many threats and, being strengthened by God’s help, overcame even the most difficult of them: religious strife and theomachic persecution, Nazi occupation, an era of political discord and disunity end of the 20th century. Undoubtedly, the trials that have befallen the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church today are comparable to the tragic events of the past. The current Ukrainian government, positioning itself as fighters against the Soviet legacy, uses against the Church of Christ and Her shrines, and therefore against millions of its own citizens, faithful children of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the godless methods of the Soviet regime of the period of 1920–1930 and the 1960s. Twice in the 20th century, completely groundlessly from the point of view of law, the inhabitants were expelled from the Kiev-Caves Lavra by the will of the authorities, and the monastery itself was desecrated and ruined: in the 1920s and during the Khrushchev persecution. Until recently, it was impossible to imagine that today, in the 21st century, we will again witness arbitrariness towards people who do not commit any evil. If the Kiev-Caves Lavra again loses its inhabitants today, then this may entail tragic spiritual, moral and cultural consequences not only for Orthodox believers, but for the entire Ukrainian society. The implementation of this insane plan will only exacerbate the already difficult socio-political situation and inter-religious relations within the Ukrainian state. It can serve as an impetus for a new stage of church schism, the beginning of desecration of shrines, desecration and looting of Orthodox churches and monasteries, as a result of which riots or even open civil confrontation on the basis of religious intolerance may break out in society. The Belarusian Orthodox Church calls on the world community to actively defend canonical Orthodoxy on Ukrainian soil as the true Church of Christ, as a guarantor of peace and a guarantee of stability in Ukrainian society; to the immediate adoption of measures aimed at stopping destructive statements and actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its clergy and parishioners, including the abolition of the decision to evict the inhabitants of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Caves Lavra, leaving the monastery under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the adoption by the top leadership of Ukraine of the relevant normative legal acts. We also call on the Ukrainian authorities to ensure strict compliance with the current Ukrainian legislation and international law regarding freedom of conscience and religion, respect for legal human rights and freedoms. All the faithful children of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, as well as all believers who are not indifferent to the fate of the Orthodox Church on Ukrainian soil, we ask you to intensify your prayers for granting our neighbors and brothers in faith God’s help and strength to overcome the trials that have befallen them, for the preservation of shrines, about the gift of peace and mutual understanding. May the Lord help us all, through the prayers of the Most Pure Lady of the Mother of God, the host of Kiev-Caves and Belarusian holy ascetics, new martyrs and confessors of our Church, to preserve the Church of Christ invincible from enmity and disorder!”
Holy Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, 28 March 2023
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(Letter to Prime Minister of Hungary, Victor Orban)
Dear Mr. Prime Minister!
I am addressing you as the head of a government that does a lot not only to preserve and increase Christian spiritual and moral values in Hungary, but also to help Christians who are persecuted in different parts of the world.
On August 7, the Vinnytsia City Court issued a guilty verdict against Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskikh) of Tulchin and Bratslav, who is accused of “actions aimed at the violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order and the seizure of state power,” as well as “encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Metropolitan Jonathan is a hierarch with many years of experience. At the turn of the 80s and 90s of the last century, he was the governor of the Kiev-Caves Lavra, contributed to the revival of this shrine, from which monks are now expelled by decision of the Ukrainian authorities. Then he successively headed several dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and since August 2014 — the Tulchin and Bratslav diocese.
Bishop Jonathan is an outstanding church composer, whose works are performed by many leading choirs.
I ask you, dear Mr. Prime Minister, to do everything possible to attract the attention of the international community to the unprecedented decision of the Vinnytsia City Court and to secure the release of the venerable hierarch — if not for any other reasons, then for humanitarian reasons. The Bishop is 74 years old, he has severe diabetes, and depriving him of freedom for 5 years means nothing less than a death sentence.
May the Lord God protect you and the God-loving country of Hungary!
+ Hilarion,
Metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary, 9 August 2023
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Patriarchate of Georgia
(Letter to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople)
“I greet you with fraternal love in Christ and address you regarding the following issue: First of all, we would like to once again express our deep heartache caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, which is taking the lives of soldiers who defend their homeland and the lives of thousands of innocent people. We have gone through these processes and we understand the severity of the situation there. Apart from the aforementioned, we are concerned about the current circumstances in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It is also clear to us that the government of Ukraine, being at war, has its own position towards it, and does not consider religious depth. That is why I am addressing you, Your Holiness. As it is known, the largest part of the priests, clergy and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church exhibited loyalty to their country in this war, and their unanimity as well led them to the strength of Ukraine. Of course, there would have been those holding a different position; however, this does not change the overall picture. The fact that, according to the synodal decision, His Beatitude Onuphrius separated from the Russian Church and also took some steps for negotiations is extremely important. It is also important that the commitment of this Church to any of the ecclesiastical issues is conditioned by the observance of the spiritual way of life, which has been recognized for centuries, and does not necessarily mean unconditional obedience to another Church. Hitherto, Metropolitan Onuphrius is deprived of the Kiev Caves Lavra, there are problems with other churches and monasteries, which are under his jurisdiction, as well. It is a fact that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has found itself in a very difficult situation from many sides. Your All Holiness, everyone remembers numerous steps you have taken with the mission of peace and therefore we presume that in this case also, if it is possible, you might help ease the tension, which, in our opinion, implies the creation of conditions for peaceful coexistence at the first stage, and then, a peaceful move towards mutual rapprochement. At present, the Orthodox world faces a number of serious challenges and every positive step against this background will be of great value. I would like to end this letter with the words of Saint Paul the Apostle: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4.3) May God grant peace to Ukraine and to the entire world.”
Patriarch Ilia of Georgia, 24 March 2023
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Patriarchate of Serbia
(In response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
“In the Synodal letter, His Holiness Patriarch Porphyrius emphasizes that he not only has an obligation but also a strong personal need to inform his brother and co-celebrant, His Beatitude Onuphrius, that the news of the Ukrainian Parliament adopting a law providing for the prohibition of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been received with deep bitterness in the Local Church of St. Sava.
Given that in not-so-distant history, during World War II, the Serbian Orthodox Church was banned and persecuted, we experientially feel the truth of the sacred words of the Apostle Paul in your case that if one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (1 Cor 12:26), Patriarch Porphyrius reminded and emphasized that the work and mission of our Church was then prevented by an openly totalitarian, criminal regime of a puppet fascist creation, while, to make the tragedy greater, today the sister Church in Ukraine is being persecuted by a declaratively democratic government made up of its own compatriots, which makes the situation difficult and incomparably more absurd.
With anxiety in our hearts, dear brother in Christ, we feel that on the example of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a new totalitarianism is being introduced in which not even the maxim of St. Constantine the Equal-to-the-Apostles applies, which is one of the basic generally accepted social principles by which we live, and which states: Let each one believe as his heart desires, Patriarch Porphyrius conveyed and concluded that it is clear that the degradation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to a banned organization further legalizes the already permanent persecution, arrest, and harassment of its sacred hierarchy and faithful people, enables further seizure of its property or, more accurately, repeats the Golgotha scenario and crucifies it on a new cross of suffering, while returning Ukrainian society as a whole to the time of Roman persecutions of the Church of Christ.
Our prayers, our hopes, our thoughts, but also our sincere wishes that those in authority turn away from their folly to the knowledge of justice and truth, as well as for peace, brotherly love, and harmony to reign again in your homeland, are constantly raised before the face of the Lord from every heart of the Serbian people, always loyal to you, in whose unreserved support and help you should never doubt. With hope for the most favorable and just resolution of the difficult situation and with prayer to the greatest Sufferer in all worlds, our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you and the fullness of our beloved Ukrainian Orthodox Church strength, faith, love, and patience to carry your cross until the Paschal dawn, we send you brotherly greetings and the love of our hearts, Patriarch Porphyrius of Serbia emphasized at the end of the letter to his brother and co-celebrant in Christ, Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine.”
“Appeal in connection with state terror against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as is well known, is the canonical and legitimate Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and at the same time the largest religious organization in this country. It is recognized by all Orthodox Churches in the world, as well as by all non-Orthodox Churches and denominations, while the non-canonical schismatic structure, which, although it calls itself the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, does not even have the elementary attributes of a church, is recognized by only four Orthodox Churches, which make up a very small percentage of the total number of believers in the Orthodox world. Of course, if the numerical disparity were in favor of a non–canonical structure, that is, not in favor of the canonical Church, this still wouldn’t change anything on the ontological level, because the Church is the Church, and an illegal parasynagogue can become a Church only through repentance and canonical procedure, but not by the stroke of anyone’s pen. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not at all one of the “warring parties,” but a living and functioning Church of God, which is in unity of faith and liturgical communion with the Russian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox Churches. Wars, both just and unjust, are waged by states, not Churches. In itself, the treatment of the Church as an enemy is monstrous, because believers from both sides of the tragic confrontation belong to it. The Church is always for peace. It constantly prays for peace and does everything in its power to make friendship and love replace enmity and hatred between people. The Church doesn’t divide people into “friends” and “strangers,” “fellow citizens” and “foreigners.” In the name of God, Who is Love, the Church strives to embrace with love and pastoral care for the salvation of the soul and life of everyone who needs brotherly love and help. The best example of such a position and behavior is given to us by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — its primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine, its episcopate, priesthood, monastics, and faithful people. Therefore, it is with deep concern, sorrow, and compassionate brotherly love that the Serbian Orthodox Church beholds the patience of the saints (Rev. 14:12; cf. 1:9) in Ukraine, beholds the oppression, violence, and persecution that the current Ukrainian government is carrying out against the canonical Church, and thereby against the majority of its own citizens, given the fact that we are talking about the largest religious community in the country. The persecution literally culminated in recent days with the forcible seizure of churches in favor of a pseudo-church schismatic structure enjoying the status of a kind of “state Church” and an informal inquisition. The upcoming peak of terror, conceived exactly according to the scenario of the Soviet persecution of the Church, was also announced — the expulsion of two hundred and fifty monks, as well as over a hundred teachers and students of theology from the Kiev Caves Lavra, the spiritual source and century-old center of Holy Rus’, the Baptismal Font of Eastern Slavic Christianity and Orthodoxy in modern Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. The Kiev Caves Lavra with its sacred treasures is not only a symbol and center of Orthodox Ukraine and, more broadly, of the “Russian world” (however this term is understood), but also an inexhaustible life-giving spiritual font for all Orthodoxy. Moreover, the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Lavra is an extremely important and visible element not only of the Ukrainian and all–Russian, but also of the world cultural heritage. In the light of these facts, the decision of the current state leadership of Ukraine to expel Metropolitan Onuphrius, the monastic brotherhood and the Theological Academy from the Lavra is nothing but a synonym for the horrific state terror over the Church, as well as the grossest violation of its fundamental rights, violation of both religious freedoms and freedom of conscience in general. The behavior of the Ukrainian state leadership testifies that its true and probably ultimate goal is the destruction of historical memory and all traces of the original Orthodoxy in Ukraine in order to change its code and historical identity, which the Church has created in patience and torment, preserving for centuries, from the Holy Prince Vladimir to the present day. Feeling and knowing that the only existing Orthodox Church in Ukraine, headed by Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev, carries its cross with courage and humility, hopefully ascending to Golgotha — both Christ’s Golgotha and its own, we are certain that the Crucified and Resurrected Lord, thanks to deep faith, forgiveness and love for everyone, including those who have become its enemies by their own choice, will grant His Church the strength to endure all the incumbent sufferings that it can bear. Simultaneously with this cry, we raise our voice against the terrible injustice and state terror over the Church in Ukraine, which “cries out to Heaven.” We hope that Churches and religious communities, institutions and organizations that care about peace, justice, and at least some kind of order in the world will condemn the gross violation of religious rights and freedoms in Ukraine. Praying fervently to the Lord for the cessation of the fratricidal war in Ukraine and for the speedy establishment of blessed peace on its land, we await with faith, hope, and love the triumph of the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ over the forces of darkness, evil, and death. Before Thy Cross, we bow down in worship O Christ, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.”
Patriarch Porphyrius of Serbia, 28 March 2023
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(Letter to António Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations)
“Dear Mr. Guterres, We are writing to you on behalf of hundreds of thousands of concerned Orthodox believers throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the open persecution and trampling of basic religious freedoms and human rights committed against the monks of the Holy Assumption Kiev-Caves Lavra in Kiev. We are personally appealing to you to use your authority to stand up for the preservation of the great Orthodox shrine of the Kiev Caves Lavra (11th century). Namely, the monks of this ancient monastery led by their abbot, Bishop Pavlo, were ordered by the state authorities in Kiev to leave the Lower Lavra monastery by March 29. We ask you, Mr. Guterres, to invest your authority in the protection of the monks of the Kiev-Caves Lavra in Kiev, whose sole responsibility is fidelity to their Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its canonical order. If the persecution of the monks were to happen — God forbid — it would be the destruction of all religious, cultural and human rights of this monastery, its monks and the announcement of possible apocalyptic iniquities towards all other religious buildings and shrines, regardless of which religion and Church they belong to. The Kiev-Caves Lavra is synonymous with thousand-year-old Orthodoxy and thousand-year-old Holiness and the victory of God over Satan, the victory of Good over evil. The Kiev-Caves Lavra is a world heritage of culture, art, architecture and Orthodox spirituality, a place of repentance and forgiveness and a source of hope and consolation. By protecting the basic freedoms and basic rights of the monks of the Kiev-Caves Lavra in Kiev, you, Mr. Guterres, would confirm the noble mission of the United Nations in preventing injustice and the persecution of the innocent. Without doubting your protection of the persecuted monks in Kiev, we wish you all the best from the Lord!”
Bishop Photius of Zvorničko, 27 March 2023
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(Letter to the Prime Minister of Australia)
“Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing to you on behalf of many concerned Orthodox believers across Australia, regarding the open persecution and trampling of religious freedoms and human rights that is happening before our eyes at the Assumption Kiev-Caves Lavra, otherwise known as the Kiev-Caves Monastery in Kiev, Ukraine. The monks of this ancient monastery, who, like their predecessors, centuries before them, live in monastic solitude and prayer, were ordered by the state authorities in Kiev to leave the Donje Lavra monastery by March 29 of this year. The brotherhood, like the rest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), throughout Ukraine, was persecuted by the state simply because it remained loyal to the canonical order and organization of the Holy Orthodox Church. The reason for this persecution lies in the fact that the UOC refuses to submit to politics and become part of the state-imposed nationalist creation known as the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” The persecution of the monks of the aforementioned Lavra is actually part of a nationalist fire politically lit and fueled by the Ukrainian government in Kiev. In the words of the abbot of the brotherhood, His Eminence Metropolitan Pavle, we listen to the cry of the monks of this Lavra: “We came to the Lavra to devote our lives to serving God, prayer, and the people. We pray for our country, and therefore we pray even today, in these difficult times , may God protect us. We are citizens of Ukraine, and we ask the authorities not to interfere in the affairs of the Church. We do not ask for protection, but we ask for only one thing: the implementation of the laws of the state. Therefore, once again, we ask and beg: Leave the monks in the monastery alone and give them the opportunity to fulfill their basic mission — prayer!” Please note that the authorities in Kiev and international governments are covering up the plight of the monastics. Therefore, I appeal to you, the Prime Minister of our democratic and sovereign state of Australia, to do the right thing and demand that the authorities in Ukraine respect and defend democratic rights, religious freedom and freedom of conscience, especially in relation to monasticism in Ukraine, Kiev, Kiev-Caves Lavra and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
Bishop Siluan of Australia-New Zealand, 24 February 2023
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(Letter to the President of Croatia)
“The time in which we live, and this is the first week of Great and Holy Lent, also called Clean Sunday, just as in the prayers and chants that we produce on these days, we hear the sobs and cries of the soul, seeking mercy, repenting and praying for itself and for a neighbor, and I can’t help but remember once again, with sadness, but also with a tremendous true striving for peace, about the sufferings of the Orthodox Church and the people on the territory of Ukraine. Down below The sufferings of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church do not subside even in the past, and, regrettably, today they are even stronger and remind us of the early Christian persecutions of the first century of Christianity. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as a unique canonical Church, suffers from terror, which deprives people of basic human rights, which is also expressed in the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union, namely, in Part P, under the heading FREEDOM, Article 10 of freedom of thought, conscience and religion, reads: “Every person has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes the freedom to change one’s religion or beliefs, and equally the freedom to profess one’s religion or adhere to one’s beliefs, both individually and in community with others, in public or private, in worship , belief and observance of religious and ritual ceremonies” On the territory of Ukraine today, the systematic confiscation of churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the prohibition of liturgical services and the holding of obriads. There is a general anti-church pagadanist campaign in the country, EXCEEDING THE MEASURES OF THE CAMPAIGN CARRIED OUT BY THE COMMUNICIAL VOLUME GOVERNMENT IN THE MURKY TIMES OF THIS WORLD. We were moved to turn to you by the letter sent to us by the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Zaporozhye and Melitopol Mr. Luka, with a request for prayerful support and a raised voice for the protection of basic human rights and freedoms and canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine, who marked us with the terrifying scale of persecution of canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine. On the Since the beginning of the armed conflict in Ukraine in 2022 and to this day, more than twenty-fifty places of worship (temples) have been confiscated in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by violent methods or as a result of illegal actions by state officials, and another hundred temples are in the process of confiscation. Several bills have already been registered in the state parliament which violate the primordial and essential dimension of rights in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. At the same time, oblast and city councils are taking decisions on preventing the functioning of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in its regions. Pomimo confiscation of temples and cancellation of the right to worship and, consequently, denial of basic human rights and freedoms, after the entry into force of the decision to deprive of citizenship, twelve Bishops, which is the main purpose of their deportation beyond the borders of Ukraine, and also a training ground for possible deprivation of citizenship and persecution dozens of other priests of the altar of God on the territory under the spiritual care of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In these moments of not only spiritual suffering and torture, but also an existential threat to the people and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has existed for centuries and continues to exist on this territory, we turn to you with a request, as to the President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, having the opportunity in the European Parliament and institutions responsible for the protection of human rights and freedoms, guaranteed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Human Freedoms of the European Union, inform your European colleagues and the general public about this, and also point out the gross violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion in Ukraine, which results in discrimination against the Orthodox population and a gross violation of their fundamental human rights. As you know, the European Union supports the principle of “the inviolability of human rights and fundamental freedoms”, in accordance with which it is obliged to respect and teach civil rights, as well as economic and social issues. Human rights are inextricably linked to peace, and the observance of these rights and freedom is a matter of first-degree importance. It is precisely for this reason that we once again appeal to you and ask for your help to the extent that it is in your power, namely: to inform competent European organizations about this with the aim of preserving basic human rights and freedoms and to get them to respect them, not allowing to survive what is carried out by legal violence, because what is created by violence is subject to rapid decay and disappearance. In a similar way, it is necessary to protect every person, regardless of any division, because the deprivation of basic rights leads to the collapse and destruction of traditional spiritual values and foundations on which we rest, and, in this way, to the dehumanization of every individual person and peoples in everything With the hope and desire that our conversion to you will bear fruit, and with the one and only human goal of protecting man, his personal feelings and rights, and establishing peace.
Bishop Gerasim of Gorno-Karlovatsk, 1 March 2023
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“In our thoughts and prayers, we are inextricably linked with our brothers in Ukraine, where the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by its primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius, stands on the defensive of the Orthodox faith, enduring the most terrible persecutions — sufferings and persecutions that we thought couldn’t happen in the 21st century. We don’t forget their charity, the help and support that Metropolitan Onuphrius gave us in our righteous struggle three years ago. At the end of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Joannicius prayed with the clergy for the salvation of the Orthodox people in Ukraine, for peace and brotherly love, and in particular they prayed that the Lord would save the Kiev Caves Lavra, which is currently under attack by godless and anti-Church authorities.”
Metropolitan Joannicius of Montenegro, 27 March 2023
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Patriarchate of Romania
(In response to the confiscation of the Romanian Language parish in Chernivtsi, The Three Holy Hierarchs Church, by the Ukrainian government)
Although the Romanian clergy and believers in the Chernivtsi region are not members of the Romanian Orthodox Church , but belong to another Orthodox Church, we cannot remain indifferent in the face of the confiscation by the authorities, with various administrative justifications, of a Romanian identity symbol and in the face of the violation of freedom religious beliefs of some Romanian Orthodox Christians.
As a result, we, together with the Romanian organizations that wrote to us, request the support of the Romanian authorities in addition to the Ukrainian authorities, so that Romanians are free to pray in their language and come to the Romanian Orthodox Church, if they wish this.
Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate, 4 September 2024
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Patriarchate of Bulgaria
(Letter to Metropolitan Onuphrius congratulating him on his 10th anniversary as Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
Today, exactly ten years ago, your solemn enthronement as the Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine took place after the canonical election conducted by the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. During this ten-year period, you established yourself as a worthy successor of the great bishops and confessors who served as priests at the Kiev Metropolitan Cathedral.
The time of your Primateship fell upon difficult trials for the Ukrainian people and their Church. You resisted and continue, with God’s help, to resist all attempts at separation, preserving the unity, integrity and canonicality of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. At the same time, these were the years of division in the Ukrainian society itself, during which you always showed yourself as a unifier and peacemaker, which is the evangelical duty of every true shepherd of Christ.
We pray for you personally, that the All-Merciful Lord will grant you many more years in health, spiritual prudence and cheerfulness to lead your God-appointed Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the salvation, peace and spiritual prosperity of the pious Ukrainian people.
Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria, 18 August 2024
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“In the days of Lent, a time of intense spiritual struggle, among many trials and especially the horrors of the war in Ukraine — the loss of human lives and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people who lost their loved ones, homes, property due to warfare or natural disasters in other regions of the world, for us Orthodox Christians have been added to this wound of the increasing persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We are deeply disturbed by the decision of the leadership of the Kiev-Caves Lavra National Reserve to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine until March 29, 2023. monks and inhabitants of the lavra to leave the holy abode. The Dormition Kiev-Caves Lavra is the first monastery in the newly baptized Kievan Rus, founded in the 11th century by the first movements of ancient Russian monasticism — Reverend Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves. Co-citizens and beautified by the Orthodox monks and people in Kievan Rus and later in the Russian Empire, the monastery shines hundreds of saints, universally venerated throughout the Orthodox Church. In its millennial history, the monastery has been through the most difficult times during the militant-atheistic regime following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The Soviet authorities expelled the monks from the monastery and maintained its temples and monastic buildings. Turned into a reserve and museum, the blooming monastery at the beginning of the 20th century, at the end of the Bolshevik rule the west to ruins. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new state power in Ukraine retained in its favor the ownership of the monastery. The monastic brotherhood is forced to access temples and monastic buildings through contractual relations with the state institution National Reserve “Kiev-Caves Lavra”. Over the past thirty years, at the cost of immense effort, the clergy of the Sanctuary with the help of the Orthodox people in Ukraine, as well as pilgrims from all over the Orthodox world, have lifted the Holy Sanctuary literally out of ruin and desolation. Today, the Kiev-Caves Lavra, which is the largest monastery in Ukraine and one of the spiritual centers of the Orthodox Church in its significance, can be described as a spiritual heart, the center of spiritual life and a precious ornament of the martyred Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The strike on the monastery is a blow to the most numerous religion in Ukraine, a blow to the Orthodox Ukrainian people and the overall Orthodox Church — a blow to the living body of Christ. In addition to the perceived legacy of Soviet power of ownership of the holy abode, a situation in itself is problematic, have the current Ukrainian rulers not perceived this relapse of the past in disregard of the right to freedom of religion? Asking ourselves the rhetorical question — whether the Lord Jesus Christ is not standing on trial before Pilate again today, let us also consider the definitive deviation of such a sacred act, which has been repeatedly witnessed in the history of the Church. The priesthood and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are unchanged with its people, endures all the difficulties of the war, encourages and promotes the militariness in defense of its homeland, collects aid and takes care of the injured and needy, in all these actions, shows its loyalty to the government of its country and complete unity and support of their Ukrainian people. We express our full support to the Kiev-Caves Monastic Brotherhood threatened to be forcibly evicted from the abode of their repentance! We address the state authorities of the Republic of Ukraine with a call for non-interference in church affairs, to comply with the principle of separation of the state from the church. We call to preserve the Kiev-Caves Lavra in its unique and unique purpose as a place of worship and habitat for monks of the canonical Church. Today, more than 200 monks and novice live in the Kiev-Caves Lavra. These are the clergymen who, with selfless work and with the support of the worshiping people, have been building up the holy abode and the many temples in it from the ruins inherited by the atheist regime. They should not be deprived of their dwelling of repentance and prayer. Their prayers are the support for all of us through difficult trials. The Lavra also houses the Kiev Spiritual Academy and Seminar, where many students and seminarians are trained. These are the future clerics and employees of the Church. They should not be deprived of the right to education. The Kiev-Caves Lavra is a blessed treasure for millions of believers from all over the Orthodox world. We join our unworthy prayers with the prayers of all Kiev-Caves Reverend Fathers beggars and all Orthodox Christians around the world for the preservation of the Holy Abode from assault and the preservation in it of the present monastic brotherhood and spiritual life. Lord save and save!”
Bishop Michael of Constantia, 26 March 2023
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(Letter to Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye)
“Your Eminence, dear, beloved in the Lord, Master! I received your fraternal letter, which touched us with pain to the depths of our souls. We, dear Master, were aware of the enormous problems in the life of the fraternal canonical UOC, but we did not at all think that the struggle for the destruction of your holy Church had reached such extreme limits. After your letter was translated into Bulgarian, we published it on the church website of the Diocese of Lovech, then it was published in a number of other public electronic media, and one national newspaper in Bulgaria. After that, there were a lot of comments from readers who, first of all, were very surprised that this is possible in one democratic country like Ukraine and expressed great sympathy and support for the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the spiritual salt for your homeland, the grace of the Holy Spirit dwells in it to the full extent, your Church day and night prays to God for peace, prosperity and God’s blessing to your homeland Ukraine and for the peace of the whole world. Therefore, any war against the UOC is a war against the Shepherd and Savior of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Holy Gospel, the Lord said: “Have you never read in the Scriptures: the stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner? This is from the Lord, and is it marvelous in our eyes? … and whoever falls on this stone will be crushed, and on whom it falls, he will be crushed” (Matthew 21:44). One worthy Orthodox bishop said: “Metropolitan Onuphrius has become a symbol of prayer, a symbol of standing for the purity of the faith and canonical dispensation for all Orthodoxy.” You, dear Master, like all your bishops, sufferers-confessors, imitate Your Beatitude Master Onuphrius and follow the saving path of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. We, Your Eminence, since the beginning of the war, in our entire Diocese, for each holy Liturgy, have been adding prayers for peace in our brotherly Ukraine. Dear Master Luke in Christ, with a feeling of unchanging brotherly love and sincere respect, we fervently pray to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother to send His Holy blessing on you, on your holy Church, and may the Lady of Heaven and Earth keep you under Her blessed protection.”
Metropoltian Gabriel of Lovech, 19 March 2023
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Church of Cyprus
His Eminence had a talk with some parishioners where he gave his words on the current persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The video with English captions can be found here:
“There are 140 holy relics in the Lavra. You can’t cross yourself. Many relics in the catacombs, where everything began a thousand years ago. Where Slavic Orthodoxy begins, with Saints Theodosius and Anthony. And now this Satanist Zelensky comes there, and what does he say? Let 200 monks of the Lavra leave, and the Ministry of Culture will take care of this place, and we will make this place a tourist place, so that tourists fill everything there.”
Greek Orthodox Church
“We recently mourned the thousands of dead after the shocking and devastating earthquake in neighboring Syria and Turkey. There was no less pain and no less mourning for the victims of the Tempe tragedy. And along with these sad events comes another very sad event of spiritual texture and importance, the foretold cruel and relentless persecution of two hundred Monks and probationers of the eponymous Lavra of Kiev, by order of the state authorities of Ukraine. The incessant war between the Orthodox peoples of Russia and Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year and is “going on well,” is not enough. The Orthodox Martyr for the people of Ukraine and its Canonical Orthodox Church under His Beatitutde Metropolitan Onuphrius, and the many hierarchs around him, is persecuted in a cruel and merciless way by the leadership of the anti-canonical “Hierarchy”, with the “sword” of the Ukrainian state power. 17 years ago, during my first ministry as a member of the Synod (2005–2006), I had the blessing, under the authority of the blessed Archbishop Christodoulos of the Holy Synod, to represent the Church of Greece, accompanied by the current God-lover. Bishop of Christianoupolis, Procopius, at the festive events in honor of the then Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, Vladimir, on completing 40 years of Priesthood and Episcopate. Then I was given the extraordinary opportunity and blessing to worship the Holy Pilgrimages and the holy Relics of the Kiev Lavra. A very moving and unforgettable pilgrimage in a sacred and mystical atmosphere. The holy relics, clothed in their High Priestly or priestly vestments, exuded the fragrance of holiness. Unforgettable moments of holy contemplation and spiritual exchange. These holy places of the famous Lavra of Kiev, which has life, flourishing and spiritual radiation for 10 centuries, were recently highlighted and restored by two hundred Monks. However, the detaining “Hierarchy” with the force and enforcement of the detaining State contributed to the expulsion of the Monks in question from the Monastery of Repentance by the end of tomorrow (March 29, 2023). Wailing and wailing befits this depressing and painful situation. “But he who disturbs (them) will suffer the pity, whoever does not” (Gal. 5,10). I express my fervent wish and hope that both our Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, as well as the other local Autocephalous Orthodox Churches, will take the appropriate position and will strongly disapprove of this anti-holy spirit work at the expense of faithful and dedicated souls.”
Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira, 28 March 2023
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Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
“On the occasion of recent publications on the Internet, the Church of Albania clarifies that it will not be drawn into the method of counter-complaints, rebuttals, insults, inaccuracies and slanders, as attempted by incompetent laymen on Internet sites. The Albanian Orthodox Church, therefore, declares in all directions that it is not prepared to publicize on the internet and in general in the mass media its opinions and judgments, regarding the attitude and behavior of other local Orthodox Churches and their Primates. The painful ecclesiastical problems that have arisen in recent years and recently in Africa, as a result of the clear cracks in the relations of the local Orthodox Churches and the widespread concern of the Orthodox believers, cannot be solved by the method of chain retaliation by specific Churches and by collecting consents from the rest through the mass media. The responsible opinion of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania is expressed in the official church correspondence, in the announcements of the Archsecretariat and will be directly submitted to the competent body, the Pan-Orthodox Synod or Synaxis, which, in accordance with the principle of synodality, is the only one empowered to resolve basically problems and to ensure the unity and peace of the worldwide Orthodox Church. As the unprecedented calamity of Orthodoxy in Ukraine intensifies and the unspeakable suffering of the Orthodox believers peaks, a pan-Orthodox response is required as soon as possible. A Pan-Orthodox Synod, as is known, is convened by the Ecumenical Patriarch, convenes and acts, even if some local Churches are absent, as was the case with the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016.”
Secretariat of the Holy Synod, 11 March 2023
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(In response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
Persecution, imprisonment, sacrilege of places of worship, confiscation of property of churches and monasteries are brutal acts. They become more horrible when the legislatures of democratic countries impose them.
The recent Law 8371/24.8.2024 of the Parliament of Ukraine is clearly aimed at abolishing the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In this way, millions of Ukrainian Orthodox believers, numerous bishops, priests, monks and nuns, who are under the leadership of Metropolitan Onuphrius and who are members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, are persecuted.
According to the Apostle Paul’s commandment, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1 Cor. 12:26), in solidarity with our persecuted brethren, we pray fervently for the cessation of bloody hostilities, which injure without exception all the Ukrainian people, and for the abolition of this absurd law and the peace and unity of Orthodoxy, so that She can offer Her witness to the world.
Holy Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church, 26 August 2024
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(Letter to Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchin following his arrest by the Ukrainian government)
Your Eminence, brother in Christ,
It is with deep sorrow that we follow the painful trials of Your beloved Eminence and your chosen flock.
We share in your sufferings and, to the best of our ability, share our testimony of the atrocities committed against the righteous Orthodox clergy, pious people, and famous holy sites of Ukraine.
We fraternally pray that God might strengthen you, that you might approv[e yourself] as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments (2 Cor. 6:4–5).
Our thoughts and prayers are always with you, so that in joining the choir of the new Martyrs, you might also resist the current absurd persecution by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God… As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed (2 Cor. 6:6–9).
With deep respect and sincere love in Christ,
† Anastasius, Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania, 11 August 2023
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(Letter to Metropolitan Paul of the Kiev Caves following his arrest by the Ukrainian Government)
Your Eminence beloved brother in Christ,
With the deepest sorrow we follow the painful trials of Your beloved Eminence and Your chosen flock.
We participate in Your sufferings, and, to extend of our capabilities, we share where appropriate our testimony about the atrocities against the pious Orthodox holy clergy, the devout people, as well as the renowned sacred place of Lavra Caves Monastrery. Fraternally, we pray that God strengthen You to “commend yourself as minister of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments” (2 Cor. 6:4–5).
Our thoughts and supplications unceasingly are with You, so that aligning Yourself with the chorus of the new martyrs, You also may face the present absurd persecution by Orthodox “by the Holy Spirit, by the word of truth, by the power of God… as unknown yet well known, as dying and behold we live, as chastened, and yet not killed” (2 Cor. 6:6–9).
With high esteem and sincere love of Christ,
† Anastasius, Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania, 11 August 2023
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Polish Orthodox Church
(Letter to Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow)
“Your Holiness, Most Holy Master!
On the occasion of the fourteenth anniversary of your enthronement to the throne of the Patriarchs of Moscow and All Rus’, I send you the most cordial, fraternal greetings and wishes. During your Patriarchal service, the Russian Orthodox Church shone with the labors of Your Holiness with spiritual revival, serving as an example for others. The enemy of faith does not like church stability, he tries to destroy it. What happened in Ukraine vividly testifies to this. However, the Power of God is great, It is invincible. We deeply believe that the evil that destroys the Divine church organism will be destroyed by the Conqueror of death and hell, Christ. We pray about this to the Chief Shepherd our Savior. Welcoming Your Holiness on the anniversary of your service as Patriarch, I wish you abundant God’s help in carrying the Holy Cross, good health and every good. Many years to you, Holy Master!”
Metropolitan Sawa of Poland, 1 February 2023
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(Letter to Archbishop Sylvester of Bilogorodskyi, Rector of the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary)
“Your Eminence! The Polish Orthodox Church has always advocated and advocates the canonicality of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. What is happening today with the Kiev-Caves Lavra, other monastic centers, churches and your Academy is an expression of the great enslavement and persecution of the Church. On this occasion, we express our regret, offer prayers and join all those who offer prayers and endure persecution. There is nothing like God! Jesus Christ said: I was persecuted, and you will be persecuted (John 15:20), but remember: I have overcome the world (John 16:33). We spiritually unite with the monks of the Kiev-Caves Lavra and all the suffering, deeply believing that Christ’s ‘sun shines in your window.’”
Metropolitan Sawa of Poland, 31 March 2023
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Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
(In response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
On the eve of the 82nd anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Bishop Gorazd (Pavlík), we are filled with sorrow by the news that on August 20, 2024, the Ukrainian Parliament approved a bill whose main purpose is to ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This decision fills to the brim the cup of bitterness that the clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been drinking for several decades — a cup of persecution and oppression, hatred and defamation, aggression and attacks, even associated with bloodshed.
The imprisonment of bishops, the seizure of churches and monasteries, and all other repressive measures against the clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are painfully reminiscent of how various totalitarian regimes treated the Christian Church. It is disheartening that such a law was passed by the legislative body of a democratic state, which is a priori expected to be the main guarantor of fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The Orthodox Church has many times in its history experienced moments that could be described in the words of the Book of Psalms: Princes have persecuted me without a cause, and because of Thy words my heart hath been afraid (Ps. 118:161). We are convinced that even now, God will not leave His faithful people without help, and the words of Scripture will again be fulfilled: Out of mine affliction I called upon the Lord, and He heard me and set me free (Ps. 117:5).
We express our support for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine, as well as the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Apostle Paul says: Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it (1 Cor. 12:26). We do not forget these words and pray for God’s help and salvation for all the persecuted and suffering. We ask the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia to continue in prayers for peace in Ukraine and in the world. We believe that everyone who realizes that respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms is important not only for the life of one state but also for the entire world in which we live will join these prayers.
(then, quoting a number of other hierarchs who have spoken out against the Bill 8371, the Synod comments on the letter of Patriarch Porphyrius)
It is clear that degrading the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to a banned organization further legitimizes the ongoing permanent persecution, arrest, and oppression of its clergy and faithful and creates the possibility for further confiscation of its property. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is thus nailed to a new cross of suffering, and it seems that Ukrainian society is returning to the times of persecution of Christ’s Church by the Roman Empire.
Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, 3 September 2024
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(Letter to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
“In the days of Great Lent, when the entire Orthodox world is preparing to celebrate the greatest joyful event in the history of mankind, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, terrible events are taking place in Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities are going to crucify the Church of Christ. The canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church is experiencing unprecedented persecution. Believers and clergy of the Prague Orthodox Diocese look at this with anxiety and sorrow in their hearts. The Ukrainian people are our brotherly people. That is why the beginning of the war was painful in the soul of every believer of the Orthodox Church of the Czech lands, and our sparchy immediately joined in providing spiritual and material assistance to the refugees. So much misfortune befell the Ukrainian people, but the Ukrainian authorities found this to be insufficient, and they began a crusade against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, culminating in the expulsion of monks from the Kiev-Caves Lavra. And all this happens despite the fact that the UOC has publicly distanced itself from the Moscow Patriarchate, offers prayers for the victory of the Ukrainian army and supports the soldiers materially. The persecutors of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church followed the same path they followed in history pagan Roman emperors and godless Soviet Bolsheviks. But don’t be fooled, — God cannot be mocked. Because whatever a person sows, that is what he will reap! (Galatians 6:7). God always on the side of the suffering and persecuted for the truth. The Prague Orthodox Diocese offers prayers for the persecuted Church-martyr for peace and the Ukrainian people, and protests against the Ukrainian authorities’ violation of the rights of clergy and believers of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Persecution of the Church contradicts the democratic values of a civilized society.”
Archbishop Michael of Prague
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Orthodox Church in America
“The Orthodox Church in America encompasses clergy and faithful from numerous ethnic backgrounds, and our parishes and dioceses share in ethnic traditions from many local Orthodox Churches. However, our local Church has a special historical relationship with the holy traditions of Orthodox Christianity originating from the churches of Rus, and the mother city of all the peoples and churches of Rus in general, and of Ukraine in particular, is Kiev. Thus it is with special concern that we observe the recent developments in the relationship between the civil authorities of Ukraine and the monastic brethren from the Kiev Caves Lavra, the motherhouse of monasticism in Rus and in Ukraine in particular. On behalf of the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, I affirm the following. We continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and condemn all violent aggression, including the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine’s sovereign territory. While recognizing the legitimate need of states to ensure their security, especially in times of war, we also decry restrictions on the religious freedom of any group in Ukraine and especially denounce any generalized religious persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius. We once again assure Metropolitan Onuphrius, his clergy, and the Ukrainian faithful, who are beset by troubles on all sides, that the Orthodox Church in America stands ready to support the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, both with our prayers and by any other means at our disposal.”
Metropolitan Tikhon of America and Canada
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(Letter to Nury Turkel, Chair United States Commission on International Religious Freedom)
“Mr. Chairman: I write to you as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, the local, autocephalous Orthodox Church in North America, including the United States of America. The Orthodox Church in America is made up of citizens of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and encompasses clergy and faithful from numerous ethnic backgrounds. Our parishes and dioceses share in ethnic traditions from many local Orthodox Churches. However, our local Church has a special historical relationship with the holy traditions of Orthodox Christianity originating from the churches of Rus, and the mother city of all the peoples and churches of Rus in general, and of Ukraine in particular, is Kiev. Thus it is with special concern that we observe the recent developments in the relationship between the civil authorities of Ukraine and the monastic brethren from the Kiev Caves Lavra, the motherhouse of monasticism in Rus and in Ukraine in particular. On behalf of the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, I affirm the following. We continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and condemn all violent aggression, including the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine’s sovereign territory. While recognizing the legitimate need of states to ensure their security, especially in times of war, we also decry restrictions on the religious freedom of any group in Ukraine and especially denounce any generalized religious persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius. We have assured Metropolitan Onuphrius, his clergy, and the Ukrainian faithful, who are beset by troubles on all sides, that the Orthodox Church in America stands ready to support the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, both with our prayers and by any other means at our disposal. We confidently hope that, as the United States continues to provide aid for Ukraine in response to the Russian Federation’s invasion, the United States government will do everything in its power to encourage the government of Ukraine to respect fundamental human rights, including that of religious freedom, during this time of conflict.”
Metropolitan Tikhon of America and Canada
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“Faithful Orthodox Christians have now come to the third week of Great and Holy Lent. During this solemn period, each Christian examines their conscience and heart before Almighty God, falling down before Him in repentance. It is also during this time that we are called to heighten our love and attention to the needs of our neighbor. And, as our Lord has taught us, anyone in need is our neighbor. I have learned with great sadness that the monastics of the brotherhood of the Holy Dormition-Kiev Caves Lavra are being removed from their monastery as a result of political unrest in Ukraine. The Kiev Caves Lavra is the cradle of monasticism and spirituality of Kievan Rus and has been for over one thousand years. These very monks that are being removed are the stewards of this sacred place who helped restore the monastery in 1988, after they were allowed to return and restore monastic life and, finding the Lavra ravaged by war and suffering neglect at the hands of the Soviet government.
I want to reaffirm my continuing support and prayers, along with the clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Diocese of the Midwest, for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine, His Eminence Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod, the abbot of the holy monastery, and all of the monastics and faithful who dwell there.
I call upon the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of the Midwest to increase their prayer and fasting during this time, entreating the Lord to have mercy on brotherhood of the Lavra, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
It is before the most Holy Gifts that the celebrant recites the prayers of St. Basil the Great asking the Lord to remember those who serve in governments and all civil authorities. We continue this prayer and ask the Lord to inspire the elected leaders of Ukraine and of all nations, “grant them a secure and lasting peace; speak good things into their hearts concerning thy Church and all Thy people, that we, in their tranquility, may lead a calm and peaceful life in all godliness and sanctity.””
Archbishop Daniel of Chicago
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Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric
(In response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC-OA), at its regular working session held on September 12, 2024, discussed several issues and events related to Church life.
The Synod paid special attention to the situation of the sister Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was administratively abolished by the Ukrainian Parliament with Draft Law 8371, thereby denying millions of believers who worship in that Church their fundamental right to religious affiliation, confession of their faith, and performance of religious services.
The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric, testifying to the evangelical truth, expresses prayerful support for the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine, the brother bishops, and its faithful people, praying that the all-merciful Lord will give them strength to persevere and overcome these trials.
At the same time, the Holy Synod prays for the unity of all Local Orthodox Churches that make up the Body of Christ.
Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric, 12 September 2024
Canonical Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of America
(In response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
“The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America has followed with grave concern and profound sorrow the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation as well as the ecclesiastical challenges in the country. While recognizing the legitimate right of governments to prevent all security threats during a time of war, the Assembly is deeply concerned with the adoption by the Ukrainian parliament of Bill 8371 (Law 3894).
Ukraine is a religiously pluralistic society. In the interest of religious freedom and the rule of law, we pray the Ukrainian Law 3894 is not used to persecute any religious group within Ukraine, which would threaten the religious liberty of millions of its citizens.
The Assembly of Bishops prays for a peaceful resolution to this invasion that upholds the civil and human rights of all Ukrainians. The Assembly further prays and urgently calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the return of all captives.”
Assembly of Bishops, 15 September 2024
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Statements by non-Orthodox Religious Leaders and Organizations
The Vatican
I continue to follow with sorrow the fighting in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. And in thinking about the laws recently adopted in Ukraine, I fear for the freedom of those who pray, because those who truly pray always pray for all. A person does not commit evil because of praying. If someone commits evil against his people, he will be guilty for it, but he cannot have committed evil because he prayed. So let those who want to pray be allowed to pray in what they consider their Church. Please, let no Christian Church be abolished directly or indirectly. Churches are not to be touched!
Pope Francis, 25 August 2024
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Assyrian Church of the East
(Letter to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in response to the Law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bill 8371)
Your Holiness, venerable brother!
It was with deep sadness and grave concern that I received the news that on August 20, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a bill that essentially outlaws the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine . Bill №8371, signed on August 24 by the President of Ukraine, is nothing less than a direct attack on religious rights and freedoms as they relate to the Constitution of Ukraine and international law, the guarantors of religious freedom.
The bill, ostensibly aimed at protecting Ukrainian religious organizations from “foreign influence,” was apparently passed with the sole purpose of declaring the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its believers illegal. Furthermore, the head of the Ukrainian state has publicly stated that the law is intended to “protect the spiritual life” of Ukraine. It is deeply saddening that politicians and secular legislators now consider themselves defenders of their country, while they themselves have neither faith nor fear of God.
Expressing our solidarity with the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine at this difficult time, we offer prayers for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius, all members of the Synod of Bishops, clergy, monastics and especially the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We pray that the direct consequence of the adoption of this unjust law will not be persecution of the people of God, and that the rights and privileges of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be fully protected by the law of the country. I understand how this will affect the Russian Orthodox Church and what sorrow it will bring to it.
The life-giving words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ come to mind, which properly characterize the situation of the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and all believers who have suffered from this most unjust law: “Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11–12).
In closing, we wish to assure you, venerable brother, of our sincere prayers and thoughts for Your Holiness and His Beatitude at this hour. We pray to Almighty God to send help and strength to all whose lives have been unjustly and adversely affected by the passing of this tyrannical law. May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with Your beloved Holiness now and forever. Amen.
Brotherly in Christ Jesus the Lord,
+Mar Ava III, By Grace: Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East in Iraq and throughout the world, 25 August 2024
