Department for External Church Relations
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Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia: We demand that persecutions against Ukrainian Orthodox Church be stopped
DECR Communication Service, 11/02/2025
On 8th February 2025, a hierarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia, spoke in his homily about the oppression and outright persecutions unleashed against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Ukrainian authorities that subject its episcopate and clergy to persecutions, justify church seizures and adopt discriminatory amendments to the laws in force. Archbishop Theodosius said:
“Today we begin the Lenten Triodion cycle which will lead us to the Great Lent, the Holy Week and the Feast of the glorious Resurrection of Christ.
“Before we start this journey, we would like to address the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – a martyred Church that bears its testimony and continues to suffer from oppression and persecution at the hands of the Kyiv authorities that have adopted discriminatory laws in order to weaken it, subject its bishops and clergy to persecutions and justify the seizure of its churches and property.
“We would like to reiterate our support for and complete solidarity with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and point out once again that it is the only canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine we recognize. Never will we recognize another body. As we begin this Triodion journey, we call upon all the faithful of our Churches to intensify their prayers and petitions for this suffering, persecuted Church.
“In times of pain and sorrow the Lord is our only refuge. We pray for peace in our country and our East, and we also pray for peace in Ukraine, for the war there to come to an end. We hope and demand that all persecutions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church immediately cease and that all the discriminatory laws targeting this Church, which is an integral part of the Ukrainian country and its people, be repealed.
“Time and again we call upon all Churches throughout the world and all human rights and humanitarian organizations to concentrate all their concerted efforts on stopping the persecutions against the oldest Ukrainian Church, whose history since the onset has been closely associated with the history of Ukraine itself.
“Standing before the Holy Tomb of our Lord in Jerusalem, we lift up our ardent prayers for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, all metropolitans and bishops, priests, monks, nuns and all the faithful of the sisterly Ukrainian Church, asking the Almighty God to fortify them and console their hearts in these times of hardships for the Ukrainian Church in the country that is suffering from the consequences of the war.”
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