The Ukrainian ‘independent’ church is seeking for more support from the Washington establishment in its attempts to fight the canonical...
The post ‘Independent’ Ukrainian Orthodox Church Asks United States For Support In Combating Moscow Patriarchate appeared first on .
The Ukrainian ‘independent’ church is seeking for more support from the Washington establishment in its attempts to fight the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
On October 23, the head of the non-canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Epiphaniy, met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The US diplomat vowed the oragnization’s “defense of religious freedom” and said that they had discussed “religious freedom in the occupied Donbas and annexed Crimea”.
Pleasure meeting Metropolitan Epiphaniy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine today. Your defense of #religiousfreedom for all Ukrainians is commendable, and I'm glad to see you were honored with the Athenagoras Human Rights Award for it. Congratulations – well deserved! pic.twitter.com/Yi2ZQChwW1
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 23, 2019
In own comments on the meeting, Epiphaniy claimed that he hopes that the US will continue its unwavering support of Ukraine’s “sovereignty” and assist his organization in combating “challenges” that it faces.
Зустрівся з Держсекретарем США @SecPompeo. Обговорили виклики, з якими стикається ПЦУ. Серед них – ганебна ситуація зі свободою віросповідання на окупованому Донбасі і в анексованому Криму. Сподіваюсь, Вашингтон і надалі залишатиметься незламним у підтримці суверенітету України. pic.twitter.com/Kdl4Al7iVp
— Митрополит Епіфаній (@Epifaniy) October 23, 2019
Right now, the key challenge faced by Epiphaniy & Co is their failure in seizing properties of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). Earlier, Epiphaniy claimed that Kiev Pechersk Lavra (the Kiev Monastery of the Caves) and other Ukrainian shrines are in a “temporary spiritual occupation” (i.e. in the hands of the canonic Ukrainian Orthodox Church) and vowed to return them to the ‘Ukrainian nation’ (i.e. capture them).
Since its very creation, the ‘independent’ Ukrainain Orthodox Church has been crumbling under a pressure of internal tensions and struggle for money and power within the organization. The entity created by then Poroshenko government, the Washington establishment and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as a tool to combat the Moscow Patriarchate appeared to be inviable without a constant foreign support.
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