The Department for External Church Relations commented on the intention of the Russian Federation to raise the issue of the situation around the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the UN, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

“It became known from the media that the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Nebenzya V. A. requested a separate meeting of the UN Security Council on January 17, 2023 regarding the situation around the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

In this regard, we inform you that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the moment has not turned to any state with a request for assistance in protecting its rights, and even more so to the state that carried out a treacherous armed attack on our country. Also, we did not authorize anyone from the ROC-MP to speak on our behalf at the UN. We are concerned that the issue of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is being raised by structures that have nothing to do with us. We call on the Russian authorities not to speak on behalf of our Church on international platforms and not to use the religious factor for their own political purposes.

At the same time, we ask our Ukrainian authorities to pursue a balanced religious policy within the country, to ensure equal rights for all religious organizations, so as not to give the aggressor state a reason to use the religious policy of our state in its own interests.

Synodal institutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, within their competence and available capabilities, systematically carry out activities aimed at protecting the rights and freedoms of believers and religious organizations of the UOC, both at the national and international levels,” the report says.