Odessa, Odessa Province, Ukraine, December 1, 2022
His Eminence Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa. Photo: Facebook
While provincial and local councils throughout Ukraine continue to declare illegal bans on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and call for a nationwide ban, there are also moments of good news for the Church.
Yesterday, the Odessa Provincial Council held a vote on the issue of banning the UOC, initiated by Anastasia Bolshedvorova of the European Solidarity Party.
Of the 42 deputies present, only 9 voted in favor of banning, while the other 33 abstained, reports Archdeacon Andrei Palchuk of the Odessa Diocese.
The deputies are probably well aware of how much His Eminence Metropolitan Agafangel and the Odessa Diocese do to help soldiers, displaced persons, the hungry, and all those in need, Archdeacon Andrei commented.
“According to [Deputy] Anastasia, if the UOC is closed, who will feed thousands of refugees and displaced persons, who will help the Ukrainian Armed Forces, most of which is our parishioners, the children and grandchildren of our priests, and many of whom, unfortunately, have died?” asks Archdeacon Andrei.
In the cleric’s view, the motion was nothing but a PR stunt from former President Petro Poroshenko’s political party.
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