UOC (MP) Metropolitan Arseniy, vicar of the Holy Dormition Svyatohorsk Lavra, gave an interview to the British publication The Independent. The piece was published under the loud headline ” Top Ukraine cleric pleads with Starmer for help over Zelensky’s Orthodox church crackdown.”
Content
In his appeal, Metropolitan Arseniy expressed concern about the situation in which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church found itself. According to him, his detention is “part of a wider persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by Mr Zelensky’s government in the current war”.
The metropolitan arrested in Ukraine described the difficult conditions of detention, in particular, transportation from Dnipro, where he is in custody, to Slovyansk for court hearings. The bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) considers his six-month imprisonment unjustified.
According to Metropolitan Arseniy, the attention of law enforcement agencies to his person increased after a sermon in September 2023, where he spoke about the impossibility of pilgrims to visit the monastery due to the war. At the same time, the bishop emphasized that the Sviatohorsk Lavra suffered significant destruction from shelling.
Appeal to the British authorities
The hierarch of the UOC (MP) called on the UK to exert its influence to protect the rights of the believers in the UOC (MP).
“The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is facing a great trial. Our holy temples and shrines have been destroyed, and our priests and parishioners are being killed in the war. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government seeks to ban the church. Priests are being wrongfully arrested, and our places of worship are being seized and taken from us,” the publication quoted the metropolitan as saying.
Context
It is worth noting that The Independent presents Metropolitan Arseniy’s address in the context of the domestic political situation in the UK, in particular, criticism of Prime Minister Starmer for failing to deliver on his campaign promise to appoint a special envoy for freedom of religion.
It is noteworthy that earlier, the same publication covered the situation around Ukrainian MP Artem Dmytruk, a notorious lawmaker, who is currently wanted by law enforcement and hiding in London. As is known, Dmytruk, who shortly before his escape was granted the rank of an UOC deacon, positions himself as a defender of the rights of believers and a critic of government policy towards the Church.
About the outlet
The Independent is a British online publication owned by Russian entrepreneur Alexander Lebedev since 2010. In 2016, the outlet went fully online. Lebedev also owns the London-based newspaper The Evening Standard.
It should be noted that the owner has an ambiguous reputation. In 1984-1992, he served in the KGB of the USSR and its Foreign Intelligence Service, served as deputy of the Russian State Duma, and was member of pro-Kremlin parties. Despite him publicly criticizing the Russian authorities, in May 2022, the Canadian government put Lebedev in the sanctions list of Russian oligarchs close to the Russian leadership. According to journalistic investigations, the businessman continues to own significant assets in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Position of law enforcement agencies in Ukraine
According to the information of the Security Service of Ukraine, in April 2024, the vicar of the Sviatohorsk Lavra was suspected of tipping the enemy forces on the locations of military facilities. The investigation believes that information about the location of roadblocks in the Kramatorsk district was voiced during religious services, which later appeared on the website of the Lavra and on social media.
“It happened during his liturgy. Then the hierarch told parishioners the addresses of the checkpoints of the Ukrainian troops, which was recorded on video. Subsequently, this video was published on the website of the Lavra and in the local chats on Telegram,” the SBU reported.
In addition, the metropolitan expressed pro-Kremlin views on the war in Ukraine, referring to it as a “civil conflict” in interviews and videos until February 24, 2022. The Metropolitan was charged with the distribution of information about the movement or location of the Armed Forces’ units. The Metropolitan faces up to eight years in prison.
Conclusion
The article in The Independent is a demonstrative example of how the religious issue in Ukraine is being exploited to shape the relevant public opinion in European countries. Presenting the situation surrounding the UOC exclusively through the prism of “religious persecution”, the publication owned by a Russian businessman, a former agent of the KGB, ignores the key context: the issue of Ukraine’s national security in conditions of a full-scale war.
It is significant that such pieces appear in influential Western media precisely as Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are investigating specific criminal cases. At the same time, religious topics are instrumentalized to put pressure on European politicians, appealing to the liberal values of freedom of religion. Although Ukraine persecutes not religion, but activities aimed at aiding and abetting the aggressor state.
