Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, has made a fundamental statement claiming that the Russian Orthodox Church is going through some hard times.
According to the head of Russian diplomacy, the reason is that Western powers, especially the United States, have united efforts to “destroy unity of world Orthodoxy.”
Lavrov said with confidence that the ROC is under intense pressure, while failing to provide details of the “plan to liquidate the ROC,” which is allegedly conceived by the countries of the civilized world, writes Russian Planet.
In this regard, the Russian Foreign Minister drew attention to Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov’s sick imagination drove him to reiterate the narrative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (UOC-MP) being under attack by Ukrainian authorities.
At the same time, he assured that MFA Ukraine would steadfastly “protect the historical memory,” despite constant attacks.
We would like to remind Mr. Lavrov that during the visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to Ukraine and the ceremonial events held on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence, the ROCinU/UOC-MP, as well as the Myriany NGO, their front organization, were pretty much the only destabilizing factor.
Every day, from August 20 to 24, the Kremlin’s servants pursued their senseless protests against His All-Holiness’s visit. Adepts of the “Russian world” marked their efforts by dirty provocations and resorted to unworthy insults.
The reaction of the Ukrainian authorities and law enforcement, however, was more than democratic. Each time, responding to provocations, police officers would simply seize insulting posters containing signs of incitement to religious hatred, acting within the legislative framework.
The police acted extremely tolerantly and prudently, never allowing serious clashes and giving no grounds for Russian propaganda to claim persecution.
Such behavior by law enforcement irritated the Kremlin no less than Bartholomew’s visit. After all, now no one has any doubt that the “persecution of Orthodoxy” is a lame invention of Russian propagandists.
Such a level of freedom, unprecedented for Russia, remains the norm in Ukraine. If such protests took place in Russia, at least dozens of “Myriany” activists would be detained, several would be convicted, while metropolitans and clergy would be summoned by security services, while a participating public organization would be recognized as “foreign agent” before being eventually banned for “extremism.”
So where is the pressure on Orthodoxy, Mr. Lavrov?
