Authority induces clerics of UOC to sign under autocephaly, – media
Journalists of the portal "Strana.ua" reported of pressure on the priests of the UOC from the authorities.
Clerics of the UOC are "strongly recommended" to sign a letter to the Patriarchate of Constantinople with a request for the Tomos on autocephaly, reports "Strana.ua".
According to a source in the UOC, representatives of the local authorities and law enforcement agencies are applying to the rectors of churches, agitating them for the creation of the Single Local Church. The authorities also ask the priests to conduct such explanatory work among the flock. In exchange, they promise a "good attitude" in the future. The source also said that the authorities hint those who oppose that they will not be able to find "sufficient arguments to protect the temples" when radicals start to seize them.
"As a deeply believing Christian and patriot of our Motherland, I consider it necessary to support this initiative in the arrangement of the Single Local Orthodox Church as the foundation of a lasting Christian state," reads the document obtained by the "Strana". "In difficult conditions of almost wartime, the unification of Ukrainian Orthodoxy is a vital necessity. We must consolidate and overcome the church schism. May all who wish the good for the Orthodox Church and Ukraine, with prayer on their lips, make efforts to achieve church unity, in accordance with the precepts of the church canons."
