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Russia Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia won't abandon Ukraine's Orthodox believers
Russia will not abandon Orthodox believers in Ukraine in the face of ongoing religious persecution by the authorities in Kiev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has promised. Speaking at a Russian Foreign Ministry reception on Tuesday dedicated to Orthodox Easter, Lavrov condemned Kiev for cracking down on believers in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), calling it proof of the Ukrainian authorities' 'human-hating essence.' 'The authorities in Kiev have brought [the UOC] to the brink of legal liquidation… Churches continue to be seized, vandalized, and attacked, along with priests and parishioners,' Lavrov alleged. He pointed in particular to Ukraine's attempts to wrestle control over the iconic Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the country's oldest monastery. 'These acts are being carried out with the connivance and even support of many European countries, where the ghosts of neo-Nazism and Satanism are again lifting their heads,' the diplomat stated. 'Russia will not leave the Orthodox people of Ukraine in trouble,' Lavrov stressed, adding that Moscow 'will ensure that their lawful rights are respected' and that canonical Orthodoxy regains its central place in Ukraine's spiritual life. Ukraine has accused the UOC of maintaining ties to Russia despite the church declaring independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in May 2022. The crackdown has included numerous arrests of clergymen and church raids, one of the most notorious of which took place in the catacombs of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra where holy relics are kept. Last year, Zelensky also signed legislation allowing the state to ban religious organizations affiliated with governments Kiev deems 'aggressors,' effectively targeting the UOC. The Ukrainian leader has defended the measures, claiming they are necessary to protect the country's 'spiritual independence' amid the conflict with Russia. Meanwhile, Kiev has openly supported the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which is regarded as schismatic by both the UOC and the Russian Orthodox Church. The UN has also voiced concern about the state of religious freedoms in Ukraine, particularly regarding legislation allowing Kiev to target different institutions.
Russia Today
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU aspirant blocks bishop from Easter trip to Jerusalem
Moldovan police have stopped a bishop from traveling to Jerusalem to take part in the Holy Fire ceremony days ahead of Orthodox Easter celebrated on April 20. Moldova, like neighboring Ukraine, has experienced religious tensions stemming from the rivalry between the Moldovan Orthodox Church, which is affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which is under the Romanian Orthodox Church. Amid geopolitical tensions with Russia, the pro-EU Moldovan government has been supportive of the Metropolis of Bessarabia while applying pressure on the canonical Moldovan Orthodox Church. Speaking to TASS on Thursday, Bishop Marchel of the Moldovan Orthodox Church said Moldovan law enforcement prevented him from boarding a plane to Jerusalem under a questionable pretext. 'They didn't let us depart. They announced a second-category search. After that, they issued a protocol stating that nothing suspicious was found or confiscated. Our passports were returned 30 minutes after the plane had left,' he said. According to the bishop, who is the head of the Diocese of Balti and Falesti, he was accompanied by two protodeacons as he traveled to receive the Holy Fire in Jerusalem. The Holy Fire is considered a miraculous flame that appears each year on Holy Saturday, the day before Orthodox Easter, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – believed to be the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. In neighboring Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the country's largest religious denomination, has been under constant persecution from Kiev. Historically linked to the Russian Orthodox Church, the UOC gained autonomy decades ago but has faced increasing pressure, particularly under former President Pyotr Poroshenko. He made the establishment of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) part of his 2019 reelection campaign, but ultimately lost the race to Vladimir Zelensky. Moscow Patriarchate spokesman Vladimir Legoida has condemned the incident as 'a completely outrageous decision' and a 'deliberate mockery' of the Moldovan Orthodox community. 'The advisers to the Moldovan authorities, who are clearly far from Christianity, believe they are achieving some kind of a political goal. Do you think you will excommunicate people from Christ, prevent them from rejoicing in the Easter holiday? As the prophet David said, you will fall into the very pit you are digging for others.'
Russia Today
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainian police break into iconic Orthodox cave monastery
Ukrainian government officials and police have broken into the catacombs of the country's most important monastery, the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) has reported. The caves of Kiev Pechersk Lavra are the final resting spot of some of the country's earliest Christian saints. The Lavra, which was founded in around 1050, has been the epicenter of religious and political turmoil in recent years. The government of Vladimir Zelensky supports the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was created in 2018 and has been trying for months to wrest control of the monastery and countless other church properties from the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The Ukrainian culture ministry had set up a special commission tasked with creating an inventory and evaluating the sacred relics kept at the monastery's Near and Far Caves. The commission is expected to complete its work by the end of May and the results will be classified. Read more Kiev again violated US-backed energy ceasefire – Moscow (VIDEO) The UOJ said on its Telegram channel on Friday that the representatives of the ministry and police officers 'have begun the takeover' of the caves at Kiev Pechersk Lavra. They used an angle grinder to cut down the padlocks which had been placed on the doors of the underground facilities by UOC monks. Bishop Gedeon Makarovsky of the UOC told RIA Novosti that Kiev's push to make an inventory of the relics is 'blasphemous.' 'Why would they make a list of the relics? In order to be able to take them out, hide them, steal them, move them and so on,' the cleric insisted. When asked to comment on the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti: 'The Viy has returned to Kiev.' The Viy is a demonic creature from a classic 1835 story of the same name by Ukrainian-born Russian writer Nikolay Gogol which is depicted as rampaging through a church. The persecution of the UOC by the Ukrainian authorities intensified after the conflict between Moscow and Kiev escalated in February 2022. Zelensky justified the clampdown by alleging that the religious organization retained ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, despite it declaring full independence in May 2022. Zelensky has asserted the need to protect Ukraine's 'spiritual independence' and deprive Russia of an opportunity to 'to manipulate the spirituality of our people.' READ MORE: Russia will 'finish off' Kiev's forces – Putin Several churches have been seized by force from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since the conflict escalated, and criminal cases have been opened against its clerics. A law banning the activities of the UOC in Ukraine officially came into force last September.
Russia Today
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
US funding crackdown on Ukraine's biggest church
Washington has been funding a crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the country's largest religious denomination, its attorney, Robert Amsterdam, has alleged, citing confirmation from the 'high levels of the US government.' Amsterdam, a Canadian-American lawyer with over 40 years of experience, began representing the UOC in 2023. In an interview with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, he expressed outrage at America's role in what he views as religious persecution. He explained that his commitment to defending a church facing existential threats is deeply personal for him, 'As a Jew who feels strongly about freedoms for my Christian brothers and sisters.' Historically linked to the Russian Orthodox Church, the UOC gained autonomy decades ago but has faced increasing pressure, particularly under former President Pyotr Poroshenko. He made the establishment of a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) part of his 2019 reelection campaign, but ultimately lost the race to Vladimir Zelensky. Amsterdam alleged that the OCU was created 'with the active connivance of the United States government.' He claimed the money was likely funneled through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) or a similar agency, but the entire endeavor was 'kind of a CIA operation.' 'You have our State Department violating our constitution, openly engaging in the destruction of religious freedom in a foreign country, doing things absolutely illegal under our constitution, all in establishing religion, yes, all in the name of' opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said. Zelensky's government has intensified the crackdown on the UOC, labeling it a tool of Russian influence. Last August, Zelensky enacted a law requiring the church to prove it has no ties to Russia or face a ban – a measure that Amsterdam described as unprecedented in Europe since the Nazi persecution of Jews. Amsterdam stressed that UOC priests and parishioners are enduring state-sanctioned violence, referencing numerous online videos showing assaults. However, anyone who raises concerns in the US confronts a 'wall of Ukrainian propaganda' within Washington. He claimed that Kiev contracted a US PR firm to silence dissent regarding the crackdown, casting critics as Russian sympathizers, and enabling the Ukrainian leader to operate with near impunity under the previous administration. He said: 'We have this crazy adopted authoritarianism now, where we as a country of institutions have made a king out of Zelensky,' who is destroying all independent institutions at home.
