Metropolitan Onufry
On May 8, during a ceremony in the Verkhovna Rada, the Metropolitan of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (often referred to as the Moscow Patriarchate, although this is incorrect) pointedly failed to stand during the announcement of the list of heroes of Ukraine. A media scandal erupted.
Several hours later, the UOC Metropolitanate issued an official statement. Metropolitan Onufriy explained his brief demarche as an active peacekeeping stance. He called for an immediate end to the fratricidal war in Donbas and for full reconciliation between all sectors of Ukrainian society.
However, for some reason, the address made no mention of another war—the church war. It is being waged against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Church of Philaret, or the Kyiv Patriarchate. With the tacit connivance of the Kyiv authorities, a full-scale raiding campaign has been launched against the canonical church. Dozens of parishes and priests in Western Ukraine have come under attack.
Specifically, in the village of Chudnytsia in the Rivne region, while UOC priests were conducting a prayer service, supporters of the Kyiv Patriarchate overturned a table, threw liturgical objects (an icon, a cross, and a Gospel) to the ground, pushed people away from the church entrance, and then used tools to cut the church's locks and occupy the building. All of this occurred in the presence of law enforcement officers.
Article 180 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for criminal liability for obstructing a religious ceremony. However, the police made no attempt to detain the hooligans or even to draw up a report or interview witnesses.
In the village of Demydivka in the Rivne region, the head of the Demydiv district threatened his subordinates—believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—that if they refused to convert to the UOC-KP, they would have to resign. In the Kivertsi district of the Volyn region, district council members demanded that UOC believers stop supporting their church and convert to the UOC-KP.
On December 5, 2014, at a session of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council, an appeal was adopted to the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk "On the eviction of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate from its premises at 6 Chornovola Street." At the same time, the deputies requested that the premises be made available for use by the so-called "Kyiv Patriarchate."
On January 28, 2015, the Kyiv City Council removed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the list of religious organizations eligible for land tax exemptions. The amendments were approved and taken into account when voting on the local taxes and fees bill. According to media reports, the initiative to increase the tax for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was put forward by Oleksandr Semenenko, a deputy from the radical Svoboda party.
On February 27, 2015, the session of the Ternopil City Council considered issues of land fees and property taxation for public utilities, citizens' associations, educational institutions, and religious communities.
Almost all entities received benefits, and most were completely exempt from payments. The exception was churches and other religious buildings of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
On November 30, 2014, an arson attack was committed on St. Nicholas Church in the village of Medvin, Boguslav district, Kyiv region. The fire completely destroyed the church, leaving only the walls, which are in poor condition.
On the night of December 2-3, 2015, an arson attempt was made against the Church of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in Babi Yar Park in Kyiv. The attacker threw a Molotov cocktail through a broken window.
Around 4:6 a.m. on January 26, another attempt was made to burn down the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Church in Babi Yar. The attackers threw six Molotov cocktails at the church, three of which failed to ignite. The altar section of the church was damaged.
On January 27, another church arson occurred, this time at the Church of the Holy Martyr Tryphon in Troyeshchyna in Kyiv. The fire damaged the outer wall, the dome, the cross, and several icons.
On the night of April 21-22, at 4:00 a.m., vandals attempted for the third time to set fire to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" of the Second Shevchenko Deanery, located on the territory of the Babyn Yar National Historical and Cultural Reserve. The attackers poured gasoline into the wall and set the church on fire, causing serious damage.
To date, the UOC has lost more than 20 churches as a result of church raiding. The most problematic regions in this regard are Rivne, Ternopil, and Volyn.
Here is a partial list of Orthodox churches illegally seized over the past year: St. Michael's Church in Ostrov, St. Paraskev's Church in Solonev, Our Lady of Kazan Church in Rachin, St. Cosmas and Damian's Church in Sudobichi, the Church of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands in Khodosy, St. Paraskev's Church in Myatin, the Church of the Apostle and Evangelist Luke in Belogorodka, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Badovka, the Church of the Miracle of Archangel Michael in Novosyolki, St. Paraskev's Church in Chudnitsa, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Milcha, and the Holy Dormition Church in Pticha.
European institutions have already responded to the situation. The Council of Europe's Department for Democracy has begun collecting information on the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In particular, the director of this department, Snežana Samardžić-Marković, expressed concern about the current situation.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is today the largest denomination in Ukraine (approximately 13 parishes). It is equally represented in all regions of the country. Since 1989, the UOC has become a completely autonomous church. Its relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church is the same as with the Orthodox Church of Constantinople or the American Orthodox Church.
The UOC consistently advocates for the preservation of Ukraine's territorial integrity and unity. Today, it is the only denomination that calls for full reconciliation. It advocates for the peaceful reintegration of Donbas into the Ukrainian political, cultural, and social space. At the same time, a large number of parishioners of the canonical UOC serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, paying their military debt to their homeland.
The Kyiv Patriarchate's attacks on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the persecution of parishioners and priests of the UOC bring no benefit to Ukraine. On the contrary, they create tensions at the very heart of the country. They drive Ukrainians to hate each other and create grounds for religious strife. In fact, those currently participating in the church wars in Western Ukraine are just as much separatists as those fighting the Ukrainian army in Donbas.
Having declared war on the formal symbols of the criminal communist regime, the Ukrainian government has so far failed to act against the most vile examples of pure Bolshevik vandalism perpetrated by Communist Party radicals. Arson and the seizure of churches are a purely Bolshevik method. The new Bolsheviks, hiding behind patriotic slogans, are committing the same evil that destroyed and disfigured our country at the beginning of the 20th century. One can only hope that this will not be repeated in the 21st century.
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