UPTsMP BELIEVERS ASK POROSHENKO TO PROTECT THEIR CHURCHES
Parishioners of the Rovno diocese asked Ukrainian President Petra Poroshenko to protect churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate (UPTsMP) from church raids by schismatics, the official website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports.
An open letter to the president was signed by more than 900 residents of a number of western Ukrainian villages.
"Genuine religious separatism took root in the very heart of Ukraine, and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the only canonical Orthodox church in the state, became victims of a heinous and terrible phenomenon—church raiding," the letter notes.
In particular, the believers cited incidents of violent seizures of church buildings in various villages of the province, among which are the churches of St. Michael, St. Paraskeva, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Sts. Cosmos and Damian, and others.
"Since last year our church parishes have been attacked by representatives of the so-called Kiev patriarchate. They spread rumors that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church supports separatism. Although in reality it is they who are the real separatists, inasmuch as they divide Ukrainians, forcing them by means of deceit to change confessions. They sow hostility among branches of the Orthodox faith. They call our church hostile to the Ukrainian state," the letter says.
After recalling that "freedom of conscience and religious confession is one of the fundamental European values," the UPTsMP believers express the hope that in the near future measures that are necessary for protection of church buildings of canonical Orthodoxy will be taken.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a self-governing part of the Moscow patriarchate and represents the numerically largest religious organization of the registered societies in Ukraine. The so-called Kiev patriarchate was formed as the result of a schism in 1992. It is recognized by the government of Ukraine, but is not recognized by the Orthodox churches of the world. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2015)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.