Kiev, June 23, 2020
Photo: spzh.news
Parishioners of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Odessa, a parish of Philaret Denisenko’s “Kiev Patriarchate” (KP), have brought a case against former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko “for raiding the Kiev Patriarchate,” Neonila Tkachenko, a lawyer for the KP recently stated.
Her statement came as a response to Poroshenko’s claim on June 18 that he was being persecuted for the creation of the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) and the tomos of autocephaly it received from the Patriarchate of Constantinople on January 6, 2019.
“It turns out that they opened another case against me,” the former President said, addressing supporters at the Pechersk District Court of Kiev. “It is called, quoting verbatim—I’m not making this up—‘For inciting inter-religious enmity by obtaining the tomos and creating the Orthodox Church of Ukraine!’”
However, as Tkachenko clarified, the case has nothing to do with the OCU or tomos, but rather, the State Bureau of Investigation has launched a pre-trial investigation under article 161 of the Ukrainian criminal code for the “Violation of the quality of citizens depending on their religious beliefs.”
The lawyer also laments that the KP has for years “suffered from raids,” resulting in its churches being officially reregistered or terminated. In a recent interview, Philaret Denisenko himself lamented that Poroshenko ordered the Ministry of Culture to cancel the state registration of the KP.
In an unsurprising move, the OCU turned its attention towards Russia, claiming that the case against Poroshenko is “is a shameful and absurd attempt to put pressure on the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” and lamenting that it could prove beneficial to those who oppose the formation and autocephaly of the OCU, “including those who have their heads in the neighboring aggressor-country,” referring to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church which is an autonomous body within the Russian Orthodox Church.
Poroshenko was also earlier summoned by the State Bureau of Investigations on June 10 for questioning in a case of smuggling more than 40 pieces of world-famous art, after which the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” came to his defense. In a statement posted on the OCU’s website, “Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko stated that the “political persecution” of Poroshenko injures Ukraine’s international reputation and warned that any judges involve would have to answer before God.
This statement only confirms that the OCU is Poroshenko’s pet political project, political scientist Andrei Zolotarev believes, while an official statement from Denisenko’s KP says the OCU’s support for Poroshenko is not intended to improve the judicial process and make it more fair and just, but only to help Poroshenko avoid responsibility.
