Abbess appeals to international leaders due to repressions against the UOC

Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: open sources

Abbess Seraphima of the Archangel Michael Convent in Odessa, on behalf of the believers, addressed the leaders of international structures and the G7 countries due to the repression of the Ukrainian authorities against the UOC. The abbess’s letter was published by the Dialog.tut resource.

In the text of the letter, the abbess highlighted the violations of the rights and freedoms of the UOC believers and called on political leaders of states and international organizations to “use their influence to rectify the situation and return it to a legal and civilized course.”

The publication contains a link to a Google form where everyone can sign the document.

We publish the full text of the letter.

An open letter to the leaders of international structures and G7 countries regarding the religious situation in Ukraine

Text – Abbess Seraphima (Shevchik)

An open letter from Abbess Seraphima (Shevchik), head of the Synodal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church “Church and Culture”, volunteer, member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine

To:

Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Council, Charles Michel
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell
Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Bujar Osmani
President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola
President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Siofra O'Leary
Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay
Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches, Jerry Pillay
President of the Conference of European Churches, Nikitia Lulias
President of the United States, Joe Biden
Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak
Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni
Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau
Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz
President of France, Emmanuel Macron
Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Suzie Gelman

November 3, 2023

***

We, the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), are writing to you regarding the violation of our rights to freedom of conscience and religion. These violations pertain to our faith as well as our individual civil rights and freedoms and occur at both the local and higher levels.

At the local level, this is manifest in decisions made by regional, city, district, and rural councils to prohibit the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and to confiscate land and property belonging to its parishes and monasteries. These actions are carried out in a completely unlawful manner because Ukrainian legislation does not grant these authorities such powers. This decision-making process at the local level has spread to many regions of Ukraine and has reached the capital, Kyiv, and the Kyiv region.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church and human rights defenders have repeatedly appealed to both local councils and the Ministry of Culture, which has oversight responsibilities for the religious situation in the country, with a request to cease this illegal practice. However, neither the local councils nor any domestic oversight bodies have opposed these glaring violations of the law.

Representatives of certain state legislative and executive authorities have initiated a systematic discrediting campaign against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Actions to ban the UOC are justified by its alleged connections with an aggressor country and the threat posed by our confession to national security.

At the forefront of these repressive actions are the principles of presumption of guilt and collective responsibility. Yet both domestic and international legislation are built upon the presumption of innocence and individual accountability for committing offences. Accusing an entire denomination of misdemeanors of some of its members is nonsensical and resembles practices common only for totalitarian states.

Threats to ban the UOC, liquidate its central administration and eparchial structures, and deprive it of its churches, monasteries, and holy sites are being voiced. An atmosphere of xenophobia is being amplified towards our confession in many media outlets, including state-owned ones, and fake news and biased materials are being disseminated. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is currently considering 11 different draft laws targeted at the UOC with the intention to ban its existence and operation. None of these drafts align with the norms of the Ukrainian Constitution and legislation, basic European and international norms in terms of the observance of religious rights and freedoms.

Currently, the Verkhovna Rada is addressing the issue of ensuring the rights of the Ukrainian LGBT community. At the same time, while showing concern for this relatively small social group, the Rada is preparing to ban the largest religious denomination in Ukraine, which has a multimillion-strong congregation.

The apotheosis of this undemocratic policy and practice was the adoption, in the first reading, of bill No. 8371 on October 19 of this year. This bill proposes to ban religious organizations affiliated with religious centers whose governing centers are located outside Ukraine in a state engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine. This introduces specific provisions that directly contradict the Ukrainian Constitution and the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations."

The main scientific and expert department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine raised concerns about the compliance of the bill's provisions with the legislation. Independent legal experts who examined the bill have documented numerous instances of its non-compliance with the Ukrainian Constitution and the articles of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations." Unfortunately, the deputies who voted for this bill ignored all the remarks made by jurists and human rights defenders regarding its unconstitutional content.

The purpose of these actions is to demonstrate that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has administrative ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and to utilize this accusation to ban the UOC. According to the provisions of the bill, this link is determined through a religious studies expertise, which is supposed to be conducted by the State Service of Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS).

This institution is headed by V. Yelensky, who, in Soviet times, worked in the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. This Committee had the role of supervising the religious situation in Soviet Ukraine and was an organ of repressive policies in this sphere. At that time, V. Yelensky wrote atheistic anti-clerical works from the perspective of the communist anti-religious paradigm. These works are still available in Ukrainian libraries. Today, this official represents the state in the field of religious and ethnic policy.

He has always spoken out very sharply and intolerantly in relation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and continues to do so in his current capacity as the head of DESS. He openly states the need for the liquidation of the UOC and for its clergy, monks, and parishioners to transfer to the new denomination created in 2018 – the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). Other officials, including the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, exhibit similar behavior. They openly state that the UOC must be closed, and all of its clergy, monks, and parishioners should join the OCU. Such selectivity towards denominations constitutes a violation of the law. According to the Constitution, all denominations in Ukraine are equal, and none of them can enjoy state preferences.

They claim that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) is a "patriotic" denomination, while accusing our Church of collaboration, links with the Russian Federation, betrayal of Ukraine's national interests, and pro-Russian sentiments.

We categorically reject all accusations against our Church of pro-Russian sentiments and actions. Putin also believed this. When he launched his aggression against Ukraine, he expressed confidence in the "pro-Russian" stance of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the mass collaboration of its members. However, he was gravely mistaken, and this proved to be his fatal miscalculation.

The faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in unity with the entire Ukrainian nation, courageously defended their homeland. The Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, strongly condemned the treacherous and terrible act of Russian aggression in the first hours of the invasion and called on the entire body of the Church to stand in defense of the Motherland.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has always stood firmly for the inviolability of Ukraine's borders. This was the case in 2014 when the Russian Federation's annexation of Crimea marked the beginning of the war against our country. At that time, the Holy Synod of the UOC, under the leadership of the Primate, condemned the annexation of Crimea and declared the inadmissibility of any encroachments on Ukraine's borders and the seizure of Ukrainian territories.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has never supported the anti-Christian doctrine of the "Russian world." For Christians, there is only Christ's world, where there is no room for any national exclusivity or selectivity, and where all people are equal before God. Waging war for the propagation and dominance of the "Russian world" is a crime against God and Christian morality.

Now, during the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has called on everyone to unite and fight against the invaders. Every diocese, every church and monastery is making donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, assisting the wounded, refugees, and all those affected by the war. Bishops, clergy, monks, and laypeople of the UOC donate blood for the wounded, collect donations for the front in churches, purchase and send vehicles, thermal imagers, and bulletproof vests, among other necessities for our defenders.

Church premises have become bomb shelters, asylums, "centers of resilience" − hubs for assisting citizens during blackouts, distribution points for food, clothing, and other essential items for those affected. The faithful of the UOC have joined the fight against the invaders, serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front lines, in territorial defense units, in the rear, and in charitable organizations. All UOC churches offer an incessant fervent prayer for Ukraine, its military, and victory over the Russian invaders and for peace on our native land.

However, at this difficult time of military adversity, many of us are deprived of the opportunity to pray in our churches. Our churches have now become objects of seizure and unlawful alienation in favor of the OCU, a denomination that has effectively become the favorite of the authorities. These seizures occur with the use of administrative resources and, at times, with the direct involvement of officials from local executive bodies, National Police and territorial defense units, which is an unacceptable phenomenon, as these entities do not have the authority to carry out such actions. Blatant physical force is used against parishioners, many of whom are elderly people, predominantly women and children.

In Ivano-Frankivsk, the cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was literally stormed with the use of gas inside the church, and force was used to expel parishioners from its premises. Unfortunately, such incidents occur sometimes during religious services. These actions constitute a mockery of the worshipers' feelings and a violation of the law, which provides for criminal liability for obstructing religious ceremonies.

Such actions are carried out openly, harshly, and with impunity. Typically, there is no corresponding response from the authorities responsible for ensuring compliance with the law regarding these violations of the law and the rights of believers.

At the same time, officials, including those of very high rank, openly declare that in the country, there will be only one Orthodox denomination, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), and that all the churches and monasteries of our Church should switch to the OCU. Although Ukrainian legislation does not provide for any preferences for any religious denominations. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the treatment of all religious movements and denominations must be equal and impartial.

For example, an advisor to the head of the Office of the President, M. Podolyak, stated that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will not exist. He said, "In Ukraine, there will be only the OCU." He referred to our denomination as a "sore" that needs to be "surgically closed. And we will do it anyway." He also regretted that at the beginning of the war it was not possible to carry out a “physical cleansing” of the believers of the UOC, whom he called “pro-Russian.”

We know that the totalitarian Putin regime allows itself to purge dissidents, as was the case with the Skripal family in Britain, oppositionist Navalny and others. These statements by Ukriane's high-ranking official raise many questions. When M Podolyak said "we," who did he mean? What was he referring to with "surgical closure" of the UOC? M. Podolyak's position is a manifestation of religious hostility, xenophobia, and an incitement to violent actions against UOC members. It is also an overt discrimination and an affront to the honor and dignity of Ukrainian citizens based on their religious beliefs, for which, according to Article 161 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, criminal liability is provided.

Unfortunately, other officials make similar statements as well. This policy towards the UOC is supposedly justified by the alleged public demand for the ban of our denomination. However, we, as believers of the UOC, are also full-fledged members of society with the same rights and freedoms as other citizens. The thesis of a societal demand for the prohibition of the UOC is fabricated and artificially inflated by certain entities. In reality, expressions of so-called public intolerance towards the UOC are marginal and selective phenomena.

Sanctions have been imposed by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine against certain representatives of the UOC. This has been done extrajudicially and does not conform to the norms of legislation because sanctions cannot be applied to Ukrainian citizens. Criminal cases have been initiated against some representatives of the UOC, accusing them of state treason, collaboration, and complicity with Russia. 26 people have been suspected, and 19 individuals have received court verdicts.

Based on these cases, statements are currently being made about the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) as a hostile structure that needs to be liquidated. However, in percentage terms relative to the total number of bishops, clergy, monks, and church workers in the UOC, which number almost 15,000 individuals, the percentage of collaborationism cases is minuscule.

There are far more cases of collaborationism within local councils and executive authorities in the occupied territories, within the Security Service of Ukraine, and other state structures. In the ranks of the National Police, cases related to collaborationism of around 400 individuals are under consideration. There are also members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine against whom suspicions of treason and cooperation with the enemy have been raised. However, nobody generalizes such cases and uses them as a reason for the elimination of these structures. The principle of collective responsibility is not applied to them.

It is proposed that through a few dozen criminal cases against UOC members, 12,000 churches of this denomination be closed to prevent the prayer of millions of parishioners in them! This measure lacks any logic, explanation, or justification whatsoever.

An unprecedented event is occurring in the recent history of independent Ukraine. The adoption of draft law No. 8371 creates conditions for the destruction of an entire denomination in the state – our Church with a millennium-long history that survived unprecedented persecutions by the communist authorities in the USSR. During the times of Lenin and Stalin, hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed and tortured for their faith in God and their dedication to His Church. Many churches were closed and destroyed. When Khrushchev initiated another wave of religious persecutions, the Communist Party closed over 5,000 Orthodox churches and nearly all monasteries.

Back then, even the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was liquidated. The Pochaiv Lavra was also under threat of closure. However, protests by progressive civil society in democratic countries of the Euro-Atlantic community and appeals from the heads of Western states to the leadership of the USSR halted this wave of total repression.

If this bill is implemented, the world will be faced with a fact of repression against the Church on a scale not seen in nearly a century, repeating the dimensions of religious persecution in the Soviet Union.

In today's democratic Ukraine, the current legislative proposals against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) plan to close twice as many churches as the former Soviet leader Khrushchev did. There are 260 monasteries under the merciless blade of liquidation, including the globally renowned Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Pochayiv Lavra, and Sviatohirsk Lavra. Each of these Lavras represents a unique monastic community that has given rise to many saints, not only within our Church but also in global Orthodoxy.

This bill aims to deprive all UOC believers of the opportunity to pray in their churches, which they have been reviving for three decades since Ukraine gained independence. They have tirelessly constructed and adorned these places of worship with their own contributions and labor.

The State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) initiated and conducted a so-called religious expertise of the UOC's Statute on Church Governance, in which they pointed to an alleged ecclesiastical-administrative connection between the UOC and the Moscow Patriarchate. This was done as part of the actions to ban the UOC.

In reality, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is entirely self-governing and independent in its management and structure, in accordance with its founding documents. Its leading center is located in Kyiv. This expertise is currently being challenged in court as unlawful by definition, conducted with a breach of the legislation, and exceeding the scope of its research. It was conducted by individuals close to Yelensky, who are well known in religious circles for their extremely intolerant public positions regarding our denomination.

For example, one of the members of the expert group conducting this expertise, L. Filippovych, referred publicly to the monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra as follows: "A suitcase, a train station, Russia." This essentially amounts to a threat of forcibly deporting the Lavra monks, even though none of them has committed any offenses that would warrant deportation. The law does not provide the right to evict Ukrainian citizens from the country without proper grounds, especially to an aggressor nation that has already caused us significant grief. Secondly, the statement by an official figure, an expert from the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), is clearly discriminatory per se and is a manifestation of religious enmity and intolerance. Unfortunately, there are many such statements made about UOC believers; however, supervisory bodies for upholding the law do not respond to them at all.

Regrettably, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which belongs to the UOC, is currently closed to our believers for prayer. Officials are obstructing access for the people to visit the Lavra's caves and venerate the holy relics of the Kyiv Caves Saints. The National Kyiv-Pechersk Reserve, which supervises the Lavra, has initiated the process of evicting the monks from the monastery. This is unlawful, as they are registered residents living there for many years, with no other accommodation.

The Lavra was transferred to our Church in 1988, even during Soviet times. The lower Lavra buildings, where the monks were supposed to be relocated, were in a terrible, semi-ruined state. The Lavra's brethren revived their monastery in the great splendor that now amazes the whole world. Now these hard-working and faithful men, who took monastic vows in their native abode and have lived there for several decades, are being practically expelled onto the streets.

At the same time, the former head of the Ministry of Culture, O. Tkachenko, and other officials openly pressured the Lavra brethren to change their denominational affiliation and switch to the OCU, promising to allow them to stay in their cells in that case. This is a violation of the law. The law does not authorize government officials to meddle in the affairs of religious denominations, compel representatives of one denomination to convert to another, or engage in coercive and discriminatory actions against one religious organization in favor of another.

The Ministry of Culture is conducting a similar policy towards other monasteries and churches of the UOC located within the territory of state reserves and museums. The process of displacing monastic communities has begun in Kremenets, Pochayiv, Chernihiv, and cultural and historical reserves. Even though the monks and nuns settled there during Soviet times, the Holy Trinity Chernihiv Cathedral, the St. Nicholas Kremenets Cathedral, The Holy Assumption Cathedral of the Chernihiv Yelets Monastery have been closed to believers, attempts are being made to evict nuns from these abodes, as well as from the Theophany Kremenets Monastery and monks from the Holy Assumption Cathedral. Armed law enforcement officers are blocking the monks' access to the churches and buildings. They are cutting off their electricity and water supply. As winter approaches, the inhabitants of these monastic communities are forced to endure cold and significant domestic difficulties.

It is astonishing that the Soviet authorities handed over these religious buildings to monastic communities, while the current democratic government is expelling them in a harsh manner. No one is concerned that the monks and nuns have nowhere to go and no other place to live. At present, there are a great number of internally displaced persons in the country who have been left homeless due to Russian bombardments, which have destroyed many towns, villages, and cities. Now, the inhabitants of UOC monasteries are being added to the ranks of these unfortunate refugees.

Russia is causing the destruction of our infrastructure, with blackouts that deprive Ukrainians of light and warmth. The Ministry of Culture and its subordinate organizations are applying the same tactics to monastic communities. These actions, aimed at forcibly evicting monasteries from museum complexes, not only violate the religious rights of monks and nuns but also render them effectively homeless. This is especially immoral during a time of war.

In preparing to ban the UOC, its initiators are not taking into account the religious beliefs of our compatriots who are effectively in Russian captivity in Crimea, Donbas, and other occupied territories. The vast majority of them are staunch supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and will never convert to another denomination. The law banning the UOC will deprive them of the opportunity to pray in their churches, as Ukrainian laws apply throughout the entire country.

Undoubtedly, these lands will eventually be liberated from foreign occupation. After de-occupation, UOC churches will be closed and transferred to the OCU. But who will attend these churches? They will remain empty. How will the residents of Crimea, people living in other de-occupied lands respond to the demands of this law? They will be greatly outraged by this attitude towards themselves. Ukraine must not only regain its territories but also the hearts of the liberated people. Actions aimed at the liquidation of the UOC will not contribute to this task.

If this law banning the UOC is passed, it will also serve as a significant gift to Russian propaganda and another reason for Putin and his regime to accuse Ukraine of disregarding the rule of law and persecuting people for their religious beliefs. This will undoubtedly be used by the Russian dictator to justify his so-called "special military operation" to his domestic audience.

Another act of discrimination against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the authorities occurred during the meeting on October 19, 2023, between the Prime Minister of Ukraine, D. Shmyhal, and the heads and representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO). The UOC has been a longstanding member of AUCCRO, but its representatives were not invited to this event. This is the first time in the history of independent Ukraine! Full-fledged members of AUCCRO, representatives of the largest and oldest domestic denomination, were not only not invited to this official collegial event with the participation of the highest-ranking executive official in Ukraine and AUCCRO, but they were also physically denied access to it. At the Prime Minister's directive, security did not allow UOC representatives to attend this meeting.

This open and demonstrative display of discrimination, committed in violation of the law, did not, however, become the subject of attention for the law enforcement agencies responsible for ensuring compliance with legislation in the field of religion. Prime Minister D. Shmyhal is the author of the bill №8371, which aims to ban the UOC. This demonstrates a negative attitude towards our denomination by one of the highest-ranking officials in Ukraine and has an impact on further actions taken against the UOC across the vertical of the executive branch under his leadership.

However, the Constitution does not empower officials to show bias towards any denomination or favor one over the other. These actions once again show Ukrainian society and the international community that the discriminatory policy against the UOC has become systematic and devastating.

We, the believers of the UOC, have repeatedly addressed President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials with a request to ensure fair and impartial treatment of our religious needs and civil rights. However, we have received no feedback or dialogue.

We are continually exposed to humiliation, violations of our rights, and dignity. We are unjustly persecuted, stigmatized as enemies, and baselessly accused of serious crimes, which effectively turns us into witch hunt victims. Meanwhile, state agents consistently demonstrate a favorable attitude towards the OCU, which, in their opinion, the believers of the liquidated UOC should join.

However, no one can force us, free citizens of a free country, to change our denomination against our will. We will not betray our Mother Church, just as we did not betray our homeland during this bloody war. We also do not want to go underground or into hiding when our right to pray in our churches is taken away. We did have similar experience during the reign of the totalitarian communist regime in our much-suffering land. We do not wish to return to those times, and we will not let it happen.

After all, we live in a European democratic state where everyone should abide by the norms of the Constitution, and where the rule of law and human rights are the fundamental pillars of democracy. Ukraine paid a very high price for its freedom and democracy, with the lives of Georgiy Gongadze, Kateryna Handziuk, the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, and many other courageous daughters and sons. Therefore, any return to a situation where we might face the dark clouds of totalitarianism, arbitrariness, authoritarianism, disregard for human dignity and civil rights is unacceptable.

Recently, representatives of the Ukrainian government stated that Ukraine has practically implemented the recommendations of the European Commission for EU accession. They expressed hope for the European Commission's decision to commence negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. These statements were made after the vote in Parliament on the ban of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and after numerous unlawful actions against the UOC – a Ukrainian community that comprises a significant portion of Ukraine's citizens whose rights are continually and systematically violated at all levels of public and political life.

But can the community of democratic countries in the European Union accept into its fold a country where the rights of millions of believing citizens are being violated en masse with impunity? Can a structure with an attitude toward a specific social group as "Untermenshen" become part of the European Union? The answer is evident.

We hope that this appeal will draw your attention to the issues that concern millions of Ukrainians. Once upon a time, even during the reign of the communist system on our land, it was the countries with democratic principles that consistently and uncompromisingly advocated for the rights of people and religious groups that were persecuted by the Soviet regime.

We are disappointed that in a modern democratic European state like Ukraine, our religious freedom is also being violated. We have endured for a long time, but now, facing a real threat of the destruction of our Holy Church, we cannot and will not remain silent.

We want to underscore that this appeal is in no way directed against the State of Ukraine. We are all ardent patriots of our native land, which we deeply love and defend together with the entire nation against Russian invaders. We were born on this blessed land and, throughout our lives, have contributed to its development, promoting its prosperity and partnership with the civilized world, fostering peace and harmony.

We are immensely grateful to Ukraine's allied states for their invaluable assistance during this tragic period of our existence. The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation caused a threat to Ukraine's very existence, countless horrors of crimes against humanity, sorrow, death, destruction, ecological disasters, material losses, and emotional toll. We hold in very high regard the support that the entire community of democratic countries and the entire civilized world is currently demonstrating towards Ukraine.

Our struggle against Russian invaders is not only aimed at liberating Ukrainian territory. We and our allies are fighting for the ideals of democracy, for the inviolability of the foundations of lawfulness in the life and functioning of the global system and the structure of every state—opposing what Russia and its authoritarian regime stand for, with their war breaking down the entire system of human coexistence and returning it to the terrifying times of the law of the jungle.

We highly respect and admire our President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his resolute and courageous actions in organizing resistance to Russian aggression domestically and internationally. We support all his efforts toward Ukraine's liberation, victory, and peace. We believe in his progressive democratic views. Unfortunately, our repeated appeals to the President's Office regarding the above-mentioned issues have not yielded results. The inaction in upholding our inalienable rights compels us to seek international remedy now.

We would never take this step if it weren't for the threat to the greatest value of each of us—the threat to our faith and the existence of our Mother Church, where we received our sacred baptism and grew in Christ.

This appeal is a cry of desperation. The facts mentioned in it testify to the violation not only of Ukraine's legislation and its voluntary commitments to Europe and international structures of the global order but also to the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms as outlined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act, and other memoranda dedicated to protecting the universal human rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

We urge you to pay attention to these facts and use your influence to rectify the situation and return it to the lawful and civilized path. We appeal to you and your colleagues on the international arena as like-minded individuals and friends of the democratic state of Ukraine and its freedom-loving people. In the past, international structures and democratically oriented countries helped Christians that were affected by the repressive policies of the Soviet Union to halt the wave of total persecution against religious denominations in the USSR. It is regrettable that in the 21st century, a situation has arisen where we are compelled to seek protection for our religious rights and freedoms on the international stage.

But we have no other recourse. We have nowhere to retreat, and there is much at stake. Behind us is the essence and backbone of our existence, our religious Christian identity, our human dignity, and our inalienable right to a normal existence under the laws of a civilized world, enshrined as the fundamental foundations of life for every individual on Earth and the coexistence of the entire human community!

Previously, the UOJ reported that the Verkhovna Rada voted to ban the UOC.

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