Accusations of the UOC of treason, as well as attempts to ban the Church with millions of believers, only weaken Ukrainians from within and strengthen the enemy. This was stated in the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC.
The DECR noted that the UOC is always open to dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities in order to preserve interfaith peace in the country.
“The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is open to dialogue with the state authorities, condemns any attempts to incite hatred on religious grounds, as well as manifestations of collaborationism. <…> The believers and clergy of our Church are an integral part of the Ukrainian people. That is why today, a year after the start of this terrible war, we all must clearly realize that opposing Ukrainians on religious grounds is unacceptable,” the DECR said.
At the same time, the UOC stressed that in a state of law it is unacceptable to unreasonably accuse the faithful of the Church of collaborationism.