UOC cleric: Zelensky did not fulfill his promises regarding the Church

Archpriest Vladimir Tiutenko, rector of the church of St. Luke of Crimea in Vinnytsia, noted that when President Vladimir Zelensky ran for the presidency, many believers of the UOC voted for him, because he spoke about reconciliation in society. The cleric of the UOC said about this on the Youtube channel of the Vinnytsia Eparchy.

“He (the President – Ed.) promised that no one would separate people in terms of which Church they go to and what language they speak,” Father Vladimir noted and reminded that, having come to power, Zelensky did not cancel the law on renaming the Church, which introduces legal restrictions on the activities of the UOC: for example, it does not make it possible to register communities, change charters, etc.

“And then, even though the transitions calmed down under him, the confrontation remained in the background and nothing was done,” the rector of the temple noted. According to him, with the outbreak of the war, the opponents of the Church decided to take advantage of the situation and direct people's anger at the UOC, as if the Church was to blame for the aggression of the Russian Federation. Perhaps it was beneficial for some politicians to relieve themselves of the blame for political or diplomatic blunders. Anyway, in order for us to survive, we urgently need unity, while the artificially created and promoted antagonism in society and the Church must be eliminated, Father Vladimir said.

“At the beginning of the warfare, there were statements by Zelensky and the head of the Verkhovna Rada that a change in the status of our Church is not timely, and it is necessary to seek consensus within the Church so that church unification serves to consolidate the entire Ukrainian nation for the sake of victory and other goals, including goals of salvation,” stressed the UOC cleric.

As the UOJ wrote, Zelensky and Johnson lit candles in the cathedral of schismatics.