OSCE DISCUSSES SEIZURE OF UPTsMP CHURCHES IN UKRAINE
Twenty-eight churches belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate [UPTsMP] have recently found themselves within the jurisdiction of the schismatic UPTs of the Kiev patriarchate as the result of actual seizure, the vice-chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the canonical UPTs, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, reported, speaking at a working session of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] devoted to the struggle with racism and xenophobia, including intolerance and discrimination against Christians and persons of other religious confessions.
"While at the central level of government there is an attempt to conduct a balanced religious policy, in the regions there are many abuses. The most violations of the rights of believers occur during so-called transfers of parishes into the UPTsKP (which is not recognized by world Orthodoxy—RIAN). In essence we are talking about forced seizures of our churches by supporters of UPTsKP with the aid of local deputies, radical organizations (Right Sector, Svoboda), and even a subdivision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ternopol battalion," the website of the UPTs MP quotes Danilevich's speech on Thursday.
The archpriest noted that representatives of the Ukrainian government in effect "share" the monopoly on the use of legal force, which is clearly regulated by national legislation, "with representatives of uncontrolled right-wing radical formations."
The priest clarified that at present the UPTsMP has identified 28 seized churches, another 6 under threat of seizure, and 2 sealed. Most seized churches are in Volyn, Rovno, Ternopol, Lvov, and Chernovtsy provinces. Only four religious parishes have voluntarily changed their jurisdiction.
Danilevich also expressed hope that facts stated in the OSCE session will not "be used by anybody for purposes of political propaganda." The complete text of the report by the representative of UPTs was submitted for consideration to the secretariat of the Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE.
At the present time, the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UPTs) is functioning in Ukraine, which is a self-administered church that is a member of the Moscow patriarchate, and there also are church structures that are not recognized by world Orthodoxy: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev patriarchate (UPTsKP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAPTs).
In 1992, Metropolitan Filaret, who had occupied earlier the Kiev see and after the death of Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Pimen in 1990 was elected locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, was not satisfied with the independence and self-determination in administration within membership of the Moscow patriarchate that were offered, and at first he demanded autocephaly for it, and when he did not get consent for this he created and legally registered the so-called Kiev patriarchate. Not one of the canonical local Orthodox churches have recognized its legitimacy. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 October 2015)
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