Zelensky and other Ukrainian leaders have accused the long-established Ukrainian Orthodox Church of undermining Ukrainian unity.
Ukraine’s punitive actions against a branch of the Orthodox church linked to Russia are part of a drive to achieve “spiritual independence,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.
Zelensky and other Ukrainian leaders have accused the long-established Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), itself under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, of undermining Ukrainian unity and collaborating with Moscow.
Authorities ordered the church last Friday to leave its base in the 980-year-old Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, prompting Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill to ask Pope Francis and other religious leaders to help stop the crackdown.
“One more step towards strengthening our spiritual independence was taken this week,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, without referring directly to the order.
Ukrainians, he said, had reacted positively.
“We will continue this movement,” he said. “We will not allow the terrorist state any opportunity to manipulate the spiritual life of our people, to destroy Ukrainian shrines – our Lavras – or to steal values from them.”
Kirill has strongly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In his appeal, he urged religious leaders and international organizations to “make every effort to prevent the forced closure of the monastery.”
Source : https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-734138