Voice of Orthodox Ukraine

The claim that the Supreme Court has solved all the disputed or unsettled issues for all other cases on the same issues is not true. Numerous publications with resonating headlines such as "Legalisation of the transition of a religious community from the UOC-MP to the OCU by the Supreme Court of Ukraine on 03.04.2024" and "Court for the first time recognizes as legal transition of a religious community" are being circulated in various online media outlets and social networks. With the aim of putting an end to manipulations regarding the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine concerning the Intercession religious community of the UOC in the village of Kalynivka, Zhytomyr region, the Legal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has prepared a commentary on this matter, reports the UOC Information and Education Department. The first thing the Legal Department pays attention to is that according to Ukrainian legislation, in particular Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organisations", the state already recognises the right of a religious community to freely change its subordination by making corresponding changes to the statute (regulations) of the religious community. "The right to change the subordination of any religious organisation is regulated by law and does not need any 'legalisation' or 'legitimisation by the court'," the commentary says. "Consequently, the claim that allegedly the Supreme Court of Ukraine has 'legalised' etc. the transfer of a religious community to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is another attempt to manipulate public opinion." According to UOC lawyers, the only issue that the court actually resolved is that decisions regarding changes in subordination may violate the right of the leader of the religious community, as it concerns his right to freedom of religion. "Referring to the decision of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court dated 3 April 2024, in the context that it resolved all disputed or unsettled issues for all other cases on the same issues is not true, because the court considers each dispute on the basis of specific circumstances of the case, confirmed by relevant evidence, and cannot be limited by any court decisions or the position of courts of different instances, including the Supreme Court of Ukraine," said the Legal Department. The lawyers draw attention to the fact that any actions regarding the general meeting of a religious community, decision-making on the change of subordination and introduction of relevant changes or amendments to the statute, must be taken within the limits and in the ways established by the legislation of Ukraine. "Cases where outsiders, unrelated to the respective religious community, acting in their own interests or the interests of third parties, convene an unlawful general meeting and make decisions on behalf of all members of the religious community in no way justify or are recognised as legitimate by the decision of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court dated 3 April 2024, and accordingly, should be considered and evaluated by the court for each case separately," added the Synodal Department of the UOC. As reported by the UOJ, on 3 April, the Supreme Court of Ukraine considered the case of the Intercession religious community of the UOC in the village of Kalynivka, Zhytomyr region, where the UOC parish was "transferred" to the OCU in 2019. #freedomforUOC #religious_discrimination #truth_about_Ukraine Source of the info. Subscribe to Voice of Orthodox Ukraine, know truth about human rights and religious politics in Ukraine

The Holy Gospel says that when the Risen Lord appeared to the Myrrh-Bearing Women, He said these words to them: ‘Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me’ (Matt. 28, 10). This blessed call is addressed to each of us who considers himself to be a Christian, a follower of Christ. Today, the Lord also calls us to Galilee so as to see Him there, our Creator and Redeemer. Galilee, in a figurative sense, means the spiritual space of moral purity, where Christian virtues reign: love and humility, patience and mercy. Those people who have cleansed their hearts of all unrighteousness and have filled them with virtues of love through repentance — those people have reached spiritual Galilee and are granted there the great honour and joy to see with the rational eyes of their souls the Risen Christ, His unspeakable beauty and infinite love, and His kindness and mercy. There are a lot of Christians who have reached spiritual Galilee, but they hide themselves under the cloak of humility. There are even more who are still on their way to Galilee, that is, they have already left sin, but they have not reached the proper height of the purity of heart and Divine love yet. And there are also those who have not made even a good step yet. Let us get up and bravely, with the help of prayer and fasting, go to spiritual Galilee, to the Risen Christ. A guide to spiritual Galilee is the sacred commandments of God, which, like a spiritual beacon, show us the right path in the night of our earthly wanderings. Let us hurry, dear brothers and sisters, Christ is waiting for us. I once again wholeheartedly greet all of you on the Great Day of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, on the Pascha of Christ. May our Risen Lord Jesus Christ protect us from those who are waging war against us and bless our Ukrainian people and land with peace. May the Risen Christ bless the whole world with peace. Amen. Indeed Christ is Risen! Humble + Onuphry Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Pascha of Christ Kyiv, 2024" #freedomforUOC #religious_discrimination #truth_about_Ukraine Source of the info. Subscribe to Voice of Orthodox Ukraine, know truth about human rights and religious politics in Ukraine

“May the Risen Lord protect us from those fighting against us and bless our Ukrainian nation and land with peace. May the Risen Christ bless the whole world with peace.” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry addressed the Paschal Message to the archpastors, pastors, monastics and all faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Information and Education Department of the UOC published the greetings of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the main Christian Feast – the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the full text of the Paschal Message by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry "Christ is Risen! With these ever-living and dear to our hearts words I sincerely greet all of you, God-loving archpastors and pastors, devout monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters, on our greatest Christian Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Feast of the Bright Resurrection of Christ is also called the Pascha of Christ because it marks the passover of mankind from darkness to light, from evil to good, from death to life. The Feast of the Bright Resurrection of Christ is a most glorious triumph of God’s love over the malice of all-human sin. Sacred history reminds us the sad event of the human fall. God created man out of earth, breathed the breath of life into his face, and adorned him with His Divine Image. God gave man to man himself: He gave him free will so that he may rule over himself, so that he may reasonably make himself depart from evil and do good (Ps. 33, 15), so that he may consciously cause himself to live according to God’s sacred laws, which make man sacred and like God, our Holy Creator and Maker. Living in Paradise and obeying God’s instructions, people, our progenitors, enjoyed peace, light, and joy, which the Divine Nature of the Creator is radiant with. People lived in bliss. But the devil tempted our progenitors, and they sinned: people turned away from the Divine love, but the Divine Love did not turn away from people. God, our Creator and Maker, Himself comes onto earth to suffering people and accomplishes the feat of the redemption of all mankind. The Incarnate God suffers in the flesh for us people, is crucified on the Cross, dies, descends into hell and destroys it, and most gloriously rises therefrom as God. By His glorious Resurrection, the Lord once again bestows upon us eternal life and bliss, returns us the lost Paradise. What a great and beautiful love of God for His creation! The Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women were the first to receive the news of the most-glorious Resurrection of Christ. They came to the Life-Giving Tomb early in the morning and brought sweet spices to anoint the Holy Body of their Divine Master. The hearts of the Holy Myrrh-Bearers were filled with indescribable joy and consolation when they saw the Tomb empty and heard the words of the Angel sitting on the stone rolled back, who said: ‘… I know that you seek Jesus Who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said … go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead’ (Matt. 28, 5–7). What a wonderful Divine mercy: Eve was the first to sin, and the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women were the first to get the news of the Resurrection of Christ. Today, the whole world knows about the Resurrection of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. The entire mankind lives by the gracious gifts bestowed upon us by our Saviour and Lord through His most-glorious Resurrection. Pascha, says Saint Theodore the Studite, brings calmness and relief from many labours to human soul (Homily on Pascha), and Saint Gregory of Nyssa says that Pascha soothes any tribulation, and there is no man who would not find comfort in the triumph of this Feast (Homily on Holy Pascha). And today, dear brothers and sisters, we join with spiritual joy in the bright triumph in honour of the most-glorious Resurrection of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ.

The Western European Vicariate of the UOC commented on the statements of the OCU cleric Georgy Kovalenko, who publicly incited hatred against Orthodox Ukrainians abroad. In an interview with the "WE ARE UKRAINE" channel, Kovalenko called the foreign parishes of the UOC "part of the Russian agents". "It is obvious that the purpose of this interview was to discredit the UOC by disseminating false and inaccurate information, manipulating facts and false testimony," the vicariate comments. The foreign clergy underlined that the UOC parishes abroad were created in order to spiritually care for Ukrainian refugees and work independently. "Moreover, no evidence of such alleged activity for Russia is provided in the above-mentioned interview. Also, such accusations can be regarded as a personal insult for those numerous of our parishioners who have lost not only their homes due to Russian military aggression, but also relatives and friends, and today they are forced to live in a foreign land, and for whom the parishes of our Church become almost the only place of spiritual consolation and encounter with the Motherland." The clergy of the UOC emphasizes that people who criticize the Church stubbornly prefer not to notice the spiritual, social and patriotic activities of parishes. "Believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are not 'allegedly' Ukrainians with 'allegedly' Ukrainian passports, as the above-mentioned clergyman said in his commentary, but they are full-fledged citizens of their Motherland, who constantly in repentance and tears with deep faith pray to the Merciful God for the return of just peace to the Ukrainian land and all those who stand in defense of Ukrainian statehood." The vicariates drew attention to the fact that no one criticizes the activities of the organization as much as a former member of this organization. "It seems that mudslinging is an integral part of proving your loyalty to a new organization, gaining the trust of new colleagues and personal benefits from your superiors. It is very unfortunate that such things take place in structures that associate themselves with Christ and His Church." #freedomforUOC #religious_discrimination #truth_about_Ukraine Source of the info. Subscribe to Voice of Orthodox Ukraine, know truth about human rights and religious politics in Ukraine

🇬🇧UOC PARISHES ABROAD RESPOND TO OCU INCITEMENT TO HATRED 🇺🇦ЗАКОРДОННІ ПАРАФІЇ УПЦ ВІДПОВІЛИ РОЗПАЛЮВАЧУ НЕНАВИСТІ З ПЦУ

On 2 May 2024, on the eve of Great and Holy Friday, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine led Matins with the reading of the Twelve Passion Gospels at the Holy Dormition Kyiv Caves Lavra, the Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports. The divine service was held at the church of Venerable Agapitos of the Kyiv Caves. Co-serving with the Primate were Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, UOC Chancellor; Metropolitan Anthony of Makariv; Metropolitan Ioasaf of Vasylkiv; Bishop Lavr of Irpin; Bishop Mark of Borodianka; and clerics of the Lavra. The essence of the Matins of Great and Holy Friday (usually celebrated the evening before) is the reading of the Twelve Gospels — selected chapters from all the evangelists. These Gospels describe in detail the last hours of the Saviour’s earthly life, beginning with His farewell conversation with His disciples after the Last Supper and ending with His burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. During this divine service, the faithful hold lighted candles in their hands, as a token of realising the greatness of the feat of Christ and of compassion over the sufferings of our Saviour. In accordance with the Typikon, a Liturgy is not celebrated on Great and Holy Friday. Royal Hours are held in the morning. #freedomforUOC #religious_discrimination #truth_about_Ukraine Source of the info. Subscribe to Voice of Orthodox Ukraine, know truth about human rights and religious politics in Ukraine

🇬🇧Political analyst on arrests of UOC hierarchs: A wave of removing Synodals 🇺🇦Політолог про арешти ієрархів УПЦ: Іде хвиля з усунення членів Синоду According to Bondarenko, Met. Luke is charged with inciting religious hatred as they could not accuse him of collaborating with the Russian Federation. Political analyst and historian Kostiantyn Bondarenko spoke in an interview with Oleksandr Shelest about the reasons for the arrests of UOC hierarchs. In his opinion, there is an attempt to destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and everything is going according to the plan outlined by President Volodymyr Zelensky or rather the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, together with the DESS head Viktor Yelensky. "Now there is a wave to actually discredit and neutralise members of the Synod (of the UOC, – Ed.) or prominent figures of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They are trying to include Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchyn in the exchange list and send to Russia. We have seen a far-fetched pretext (for the arrest, - Ed.) of Metropolitan Arseniy, the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra," the political analyst said. Bondarenko believes that this is done in order to remove "the most unyielding pillars of the UOC" so that the remaining decided to move to the "pocket OCU completely managed and created by the government" to avoid problems. And this will be an additional factor of pressure on the UOC. Commenting on the SBU's visit to Metropolitan Luke of Melitopol and Zaporizhzhia, he said that the bishop made powerful sermons, criticised the authorities and was clearly inconvenient to them. The hierarch of the UOC was charged with inciting religious hatred as they could not find facts in his activities that spoke about his collaboration with the Russian Federation. As reported, according to the SBU, Metropolitan Luke "provoked and incited religious hatred in Ukraine". The law enforcers stated that "the metropolitan publicly expressed his contempt for the parishioners of other denominations". #freedomforUOC #religious_discrimination #truth_about_Ukraine Source of the info. Subscribe to Voice of Orthodox Ukraine, know truth about human rights and religious politics in Ukraine