Yelensky: There are no privileged Churches in Ukraine
Viktor Yelensky. Photo: a screenshot of the YouTube channel "Voice of America"
The head of the State Ethnopolitics Service (DESS) Viktor Yelensky told "Voice of America" that in Ukraine there are "no privileged Churches", and the UOC failed to convince Americans of the persecution by the Ukrainian authorities.
According to Yelensky, the Ukrainian system of state-religion interaction is similar to the American one, as in Ukraine there are "no state Churches".
"In Ukraine, all Churches are equal before the law," Yelensky assured. "And the voice of the small German Lutheran Church sounds as loud as the voice of the OCU and the UGCC." At the same time, the DESS head did not mention the UOC at all.
He said that he discussed the situation around the UOC with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and, as it seems to him, "they understand adequately the goals pursued by this campaign and the legal firm (Robert Amsterdam's company – Ed.)".
As reported, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) wrote that it had opened a criminal case against the DESS leadership.
Read also
WCC Demands 'Protection' for St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai
The WCC also passed resolutions on the Armenian Genocide and the terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus.
Russian Orthodox Church Provides Aid to Earthquake Victims
Volunteers from the Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka Diocese are providing food and aid at the Holy Trinity Cathedral’s humanitarian warehouse to support residents affected by a powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake in Kamchatka.
Serbian Patriarch Slams 'Undemocratic' Ruling Against Republika Srpska Leader
Patrarch Porfirije condemned the verdict as "unlawful and undemocratic." He is a vocal supporter of autonomy for Bosnian Serbs.
World's Most Premature Baby Celebrates First Birthday
Iowa NICU defies “impossible” odds to save boy born at 21 weeks.
Court Extends Detention of Metropolitan Arseny by Two Months — Again
Defense Prepares Appeal as Legal Irregularities Surround Continued Imprisonment of UOC Hierarch