Petition to End the Silence on Christian Persecution in Ukraine

EDITOR’S NOTE: Helleniscope was among the first news outlets to warn about the violence against Orthodox churches in Ukraine months before the corrupt Patriarchate of Istanbul finally decided to give autocephaly to the 20% of the Ukrainian Orthodox. Five years later we are now dealing not simply with violence but outright prosecution.  Yes, my friends, the fascist Zelensky regime, the same regime that outlawed the opposition parties and all opposition press in Ukraine, the same regime that outlawed the Russian language spoken daily by 50% of its population, this same regime is now actively prosecuting the majority of its Orthodox faithful… PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION AT THE END OF THIS POST…  

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Petition to End the Silence on Christian Persecution in Ukraine

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the canonical church in Ukraine headed by Metropolitan Onuphry. Prior to the war, approximately 70% of the population of Ukraine belonged to the UOC. Ukrainians overwhelmingly supported their Church, despite having been subjected to politically motivated persecution for many years. The violations of human rights directed at Orthodox Christians in Ukraine have included: forcible seizure / closure of parishes, unlawful arrests, physical abuse, abusive searches of holy sites, desecrations of holy objects, intentional targeting of parishes and holy sites for military attack, and acts of physical intimidation. Recently, local governments have banned the Ukrainian Church from even operating in their areas. President Zelensky of Ukraine has threatened to make this ban nationwide. The main churches of Kiev Caves Lavra have been removed from UOC jurisdiction, and schismatics have been allowed to use them for services.

We, the undersigned Orthodox Christians and allied Christians of good conscience, note three things. First, the situation in Ukraine is unjustified Christian persecution that violates all global norms. Second, the Ukrainian Government is wholly dependent on Western financial and military support for its continued existence. Therefore, Christians in the West bear a substantial responsibility to speak for the Ukrainian victims of persecution. Third, protests from official organizations matter more to those in power than collections of citizens.

Therefore, we signers of this petition call upon the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, all Orthodox jurisdictions in the West, all official Orthodox Christian ministries and institutions of higher education, all human rights organizations, the Roman Catholic Church, all other Christian bodies of good will, and any other concerned organizations to immediately draft statements decrying the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and demanding its immediate cessation. We cannot be silent in the face of Christian persecution enabled by our own governments. Please join us in ending the persecution of the Body of Christ in Ukraine.

The above petition has been signed by 1,103 people so far (growing daily), including Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians in multiple countries. To see the list of signatures, please go here: https://orthodoxreflections.com/we-demand-an-end-to-the-silence-over-the-persecution-of-the-ukrainian-orthodox-church/#signatures
For a copy of the full list of signatures, please email us a request and specify the desired file type.
The petition has been covered by Ukrainian Orthodox Journalists here: https://spzh.news/en/news/71882-a-petition-in-support-of-uoc-appears-in-us