Metr. Anthony Calls on UOC Faithful to Make Daily Prostrations for Persecutors

KYIV — Metr. Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), has called on the faithful of his diocese to make three prostrations each day while praying for the softening of the hearts of those opposing the Church.

Metr. Anthony issued the appeal in a statement marking the beginning of the Church New Year and addressing a recent order by Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience concerning the Boryspil Diocese. The Service conducted a study from August 24 to September 8 and on September 9 announced that it had found signs of the diocese’s affiliation with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine.

The Metropolitan said the state investigators did not contact the diocesan administration for documents or explanations and relied on materials published more than a decade ago. He argued that the findings did not establish that the diocese had violated Ukrainian law and stressed that an administrative order cannot substitute for a court decision terminating a religious organization.

Metr. Anthony also addressed what he described as the broader pressure on the UOC, noting that the order concerning Boryspil was announced on the eve of the commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the Kiev Caves. He acknowledged that the timing does not establish deliberate intent, but said that “for a believer, such a coincidence cannot but raise painful questions.”

Calling on the faithful to respond to opposition through prayer rather than hostility, Metr. Anthony said, “The state has its own powers, defined by law, but it cannot determine what a person should believe in, whom to pray to, and what their spiritual belonging should be.” He urged believers to remain steadfast and pray for those working against the Church.

The Metropolitan specifically called for three daily prostrations “with a prayer for the softening of the evil hearts of all those who oppose the Church of Christ.” He asked God to grant those people understanding, peace, and repentance, while giving the faithful “steadfastness in faith, patience, love, and spiritual courage.”

Previously, the UOJ reported that the UGCC head said, “We had to tell world UOC ban does not curtail religious freedom.”