The World Congress of Ukrainians supports the current efforts of the government of Ukraine, aimed at freeing the Ukrainian national shrines, the Kyiv Pechersk and Pochaiv Lavra, from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. UPC MP is a component of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and reports to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
“We cannot allow the world community to become a victim of a new powerful wave of Russian disinformation, which claims that the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly persecuting someone for their religious affiliation or religious beliefs. Since Putin came to power, Moscow has turned religion into a weapon and is using the Russian Orthodox Church to spread misinformation, hatred and propaganda — primarily the toxic ideology of the so-called Ruska mira, one of the leading ideologues of which was Patriarch Kirill, said Stefan Romanov, First Vice-President of the World Congress Ukrainians — We support the words of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who stated that the Russian Orthodox Church “shares responsibility for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as well as other crimes that were its consequence.”
