At the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine is taking part in international ministerial conference on freedom of religion and belief, which is taking place in Prague. The head of the OCU is accompanied by the deputy head of the Department of External Church Relations, Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva.
This was reported by the press service of OCU.
On November 28, 2023, in the Chernin Palace in Prague, the seat of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministerial conference was launched with prayer wishes delivered by invited religious figures. Metropolitan Epifaniy called for prayer for victory and a just peace for Ukraine and the whole world and recited the “Our Father” in Ukrainian.
In the introductory speeches, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, the Special Representative of the Prime Minister of the UK on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Fiona Bruce, the Member of the House of Lords, David Alton, and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Nazila Ganea, emphasized that in the modern world religious freedom remains under threat, and believers are persecuted for their beliefs, especially in countries ruled by authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.
Among other troubling developments, the reports included scathing assessments of Russia, condemnation of its aggressive war against Ukraine, and efforts to destroy peacebuilding gains in Europe after World War II. There was also condemnation of the Kremlin’s instrumentalization of the Moscow Patriarchate to achieve the goals of its aggression.
The general theme of the conference is the protection of religious freedom from the pressure of totalitarian regimes of the past and present. This year’s meeting continues a number of such events that have taken place in Washington and London in the past.
The Primate of OCU Blessed Epifaniy, Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva, head of the Institute of Religious Freedom NGO Oleksandr Zayets, and representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Bohdan Movchan are taking part in the event.
