On February 13, 2023, The Orthodox Reflections Team, a group of concerned Orthodox Americans who belong to various canonical jurisdictions in the United States, published a Petition to End the Silence on Christian Persecution in Ukraine.

“The war that is now tearing Ukraine apart is the work of politicians and generals. This is a symptom of our fallen world and a great tragedy for humanity. The Orthodox Church is obliged to serve with love all those who have suffered in this terrible struggle on both sides. It is equally up to the Orthodox Church, especially in the United States and the West, to speak out against the ongoing persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” the petition reads.

It is also noted that “the Ukrainian government, whose very survival depends entirely on American (over $100 billion) and Western support, launched a campaign of terror against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry (who recently turned to the UN and the world community with a request for help). This malicious campaign was supported by the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is the main beneficiary of the repressions against the canonical Orthodox Church.”

“Our Orthodox hierarchs are for the most part silent in the face of Christian persecution, which we, the unfortunate taxpayers of NATO, actually fund. As St. Gregory Palamas reminds us, the silence of the clergy is atheism. We demand an end to this silence,” the document says.

The Petition also requires that “the Orthodox Christian hierarchy, the Catholic hierarchy, human rights organizations, global institutions, Western politicians and others speak out and demand the restoration of freedom for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”