“All these events remind us to some extent of our own time, in which the zealous followers of the Russian Patriarchate act in the same way as the opponents of the Apostle Paul,” he said. “They accuse us, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, because we did not receive recognition from them or according to rules they invented. They interpret our humility and patience towards the continued existence in Ukraine of a jurisdiction subordinate to Moscow, as well as our calls for dialogue and ecclesiastical peace, as supposed evidence of our weakness and their own correctness.

Metropolitan Epifaniy ›

Metropolitan

Direct quote

“Of particular concern to believing citizens of Ukraine is the fact that in recent years, under the pretext of ‘preserving cultural heritage,’ religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been deprived en masse of the right to pray in their historic churches

“new attempts to seize the UOC’s Ascension Church in Kyiv’s Demiivka district

“some of the activists attacking churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church may be connected to Russian special services

“But now, thanks to the joint efforts of the Ukrainian state – the president, the government, the Verkhovna Rada – and the Ukrainian Church, the Lavra is breaking free from the shackles of the ‘Russian world’ and returning to its roots

Epifaniy ›

Direct quote

“he declared his organization's right to judge the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

“the believers reported actions by OCU representatives and certain political figures that violate the right to freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine and infringe upon the rights of parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church