Polish media report on persecution of UOC in Ukraine

The Polish Orthodox magazine Przegląd Prawosławny published an article about the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by Ukrainian authorities.

In the June 2024 issue of the magazine, an article titled "Following in the Footsteps of the Tatars and Soviets" details the destruction of the Vladimir-Olga Church of the Tithe (Desiatynny) Monastery in Kyiv by Ukrainian authorities, as well as the reaction of the UOC hierarchs and believers to this event.

The Polish media informed its readers that "772,000 hryvnias were spent on the destruction of the church, with an additional 100,000 allocated for fencing off the vacant land."

The article also discussed the history of the Tithe Church and its demolition by the Bolsheviks in 1936. Przegląd Prawosławny emphasized that "in 2006, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church received permission to build a church in honor of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and Princess Olga."

"Permission was granted by the then-head of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, Serhiy Chaikovsky. In 2009, the Desiatynny Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos was founded, and in 2012, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church received ownership rights to the church it had built, while the land (which had been the property of the church for centuries) remained under the museum's administration. On February 15, 2023, the Kyiv Commercial Court decided to demolish it, and on September 14, the appellate court upheld this decision. In May 2024, the church was destroyed," wrote the Polish journalists.

They also reported that "a similar outcry was caused by the arrest of the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Dormition Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy."

"On April 25, ten days before Easter, the Donetsk district prosecutor's office announced that the court had applied a preventive measure of detention without bail to Metropolitan Arseniy for 60 days. The day before, SBU officers informed Metropolitan Arseniy that he was suspected of disseminating information about the movement and location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the Poles wrote.

They informed their readers that "the brethren of the Sviatohirsk Lavra and the faithful continue to pray for their abbot."

Polish believers were told that "morally, it is difficult to find a person in the entire Donbas who is held in higher regard and respect than Metropolitan Arseniy, because it is thanks to his hard work and dedication that the monastery was revived from ruins and received the status of Lavra. After 2014, the Sviatohirsk Lavra became the only refuge for thousands of people who suddenly found themselves not only without a roof over their heads but also without means to buy even a piece of bread."

"For nearly 30 years of his service, Metropolitan Arseniy repaired and restored the almost completely destroyed Sviatohirsk Lavra from the Soviet era, created six sketes and two dependencies in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, increased the number of monks and novices from 20 to 120, provided humanitarian aid to the residents of Donbas, opened Sunday schools, helped local schools, organized annual carol festivals, scientific conferences, and led publishing activities," the article stated.

It also noted that "when the war began in Donbas in 2014, up to a thousand refugees took shelter within the Lavra's walls, with some remaining under its full support for several years. The monastery daily fed up to five thousand people and distributed food at refugee accommodation points in Sviatohirsk. In 2022, despite the shelling of the monastery, services continued, and normal living conditions were maintained for the people who had taken refuge there. Currently, about two hundred people, who lost their homes due to the war, live in the Lavra. It is said that help continues to be provided to local residents."

Additionally, Przegląd Prawosławny reported that "Metropolitan Arseniy is not the only person arrested in the past month."

"The Deputy Chairman of the UOC Department for External Church Relations, Father mykolaay Danylevych, was officially suspected of justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine and spreading 'pro-Russian narratives,' and three employees of the Union of Orthodox Journalists were suspected of justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine and arrested, with access to the information resource dealing with these issues being banned."

"Cases of violations of freedom of religion in Ukraine are being recorded and publicized by Robert Amsterdam, head of the international human rights firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, based in the USA, who on his channel called for stopping the adoption of law 8371 and releasing innocent clergymen," writes Przegląd Prawosławny.

They reported that Robert Amsterdam sent a letter to the UN Commissioner regarding the campaign against the UOC, an appeal to Ukrainian judges in defense of the UOJ editorial board, and an open letter to the UN Security Council, in which he offered an 18-page report based on facts of violations of freedom of religion in Ukraine.

"Meanwhile, the vote on law 8371, announced by deputies from the European Solidarity and Holos parties on May 21, which, if adopted, would mean the liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has once again been postponed," summarized Przegląd Prawosławny.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that on May 28, 2024, a Greek edition published the speech of Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv in the Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Court. The editors of the Romfea website transcribed and translated the speech into Greek, calling it "remarkable".