Ukrainian Journalist Alleges U.S. Officials Pressed Churches to Recognize OCU

KYIV — Ukrainian journalist Nikolai Moiseenko has alleged that U.S. officials sought to persuade several Orthodox Churches to recognize the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), including through outreach to hierarchs in Bulgaria, during the period surrounding the OCU's establishment.

Speaking in an interview with the channel "Our home is Bulgaria!" Moiseenko claimed that former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback were among the officials involved in encouraging Orthodox leaders to recognize the OCU. According to the journalist, the officials visited several countries in the region and met with church representatives as part of those efforts.

Moiseenko said, "I cannot judge what percentage in this case was a personal initiative and what percentage was an initiative of the United States, but it is obvious that both were involved."

He also stated that, without Washington’s influence, support, and pressure on the Ecumenical Patriarch to create the OCU, “most likely, nothing would have happened.”

Patr. Daniel of Bulgaria recently reaffirmed the Bulgarian Church's recognition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) under Metr. Onuphry.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Mike Pompeo had joined the joined the advisory board of Fire Point, Ukraine’s top defense firm known for long-range drones capable of striking deep inside Russia.