Ban On Canonical Orthodox Church In Ukraine Will Cause New Great Persecution - ROCOR
Umer Jamshaid Published April 05, 2022 | 01:46 PM
If Ukrainian authorities go through with a ban on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it will become a "very dangerous moment" and bring on a new great persecution of Christians, as it was in the first centuries of the Common Era, Vice President of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany told Sputnik
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) If Ukrainian authorities go through with a ban on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it will become a "very dangerous moment" and bring on a new great persecution of Christians, as it was in the first centuries of the Common Era, Vice President of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany told Sputnik.
Last week, a bill banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of Ukraine, and seizing the church's real estate and other property, was submitted to the Ukrainian parliament.
"If the Ukrainian government goes through with this law, then this will be the beginning of new persecution of the church, which will be very similar to the persecution in the first centuries of Christianity," Metropolitan Mark said. "This is a very dangerous moment, and I am afraid that we will be witnesses of a new great persecution for faith."
According to the draft bill, the Ukrainian cabinet of ministers should "take necessary measures to seize real estate, goods and assets that are owned, leased or are on other grounds at the disposal of organizations (associations), whose activities are prohibited under this law.
"
Metropolitan pointed out that the bill is aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the only canonical Orthodox church in the country which is absolutely independent and has full autonomy within the Moscow Patriarchate.
"We see attempts to kill, to abolish the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, to eliminate it entirely and leave all Ukraine to people who are not in the Orthodox Church," Mark noted.
He warned that passing such laws would deal a "great blow to church life" in the country.
In late 2018, former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople initiated the creation of the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The new church was granted autocephaly, the status of an autonomous Christian church. The Russian Orthodox Church, which like many other churches consider the new formation to be non-canonical, severed relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate and other spiritual leaders who recognized the split.
On February 24, 2022 Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway Russian-speaking republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian troops.
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