The government must protect its citizens, who remain under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, from being used by Russia as an instrument of hybrid aggression.
This was stated by the Primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy, in an address to the Council of Bishops on May 24, according to the OCU press service.
According to the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, he supports initiatives aimed at eliminating Russia’s direct influence on religious associations in Ukraine.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine is a hybrid one, so it has different dimensions. Ukraine defends its territory, protects its economy, energy, information, and political space. We ban the activities of pro-Russian parties, TV channels, banks with Russian capital, etc. A logical question arises: isn’t the religious sphere a space of Russian hybrid aggression against Ukraine? The answer is obvious: not only is it such a space, but it has been a priority target of the Kremlin’s hybrid attacks for decades,” the metropolitan said.
According to Epifaniy, the state can and should limit, at least until the complete deoccupation of the Ukrainian territory, the possibility for the Moscow Patriarchate to influence church life in Ukraine.
“Everyone is witnessing how the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill Gundyaev, deceitfully ‘blessed’ the Russian army for the war against Ukraine. There is no doubt that the Moscow Patriarchate and its head are fully integrated into the Kremlin’s system of power and propaganda, being their instruments. Therefore, it would be absolutely right for the government to protect our fellow citizens who remain under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate from being exploited by Russia as an instrument of hybrid aggression. Just last night, I once again discussed this with the members of the Ukrainian parliament, where the relevant hearings are to take place at the end of the month. I stressed at our meeting that we should not violate basic principles of religious freedom. But Ukraine should not react to the challenges that arise in the religious sphere in the conditions of war instead of expecting that everything will be resolved by itself,” Epifaniy said.
