Sofia, August 21, 2024
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria had a meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria yesterday, informing him about the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This meeting most likely took place before the news broke about the Ukrainian Parliament finally banning the UOC, which makes the discussion more than relevant. It is now urgent.
Pat. Daniil spoke with Ambassador Kenneth Merten about “the long-standing productive cooperation between the Orthodox Bulgarian diocese in the United States and the American authorities” and the increasing role of Orthodoxy there, with more and more converts joining the Church, reports the Bulgarian Patriarchate.
For his part, the ambassador expressed his respect for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and its spiritual-educational and historical role.
During the conversation, Pat. Daniil especially drew the ambassador’s attention to the difficult situation facing the Ukrainian Church and faithful:
He pointed out that various restrictions are being imposed on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine: restrictions on religious freedom, restrictions on freedom of worship, forcible seizure of church property, and promotion of hate speech. Patriarch Daniil emphasized that the UOC, with which all Local Orthodox Churches are in Eucharistic communion, is subject to serious factual and legal restrictions in its pastoral activities as a result of the discriminatory policy of certain factors in Ukraine.
His Holiness also emphasized the need for democratic forces around the world to help ensure religious freedom in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Pat. Daniil has repeatedly proven himself a staunch defender of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. Most recently, he congratulated His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry on his 10th anniversary as primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, recognizing him as the canonical primate in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, both political and ecclesiastical figures in Ukraine and the US have admitted the US’s central role in creation of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” which actively persecutes the canonical Church. According to the Assistant Secretary of State under President Trump, it was even U.S. policy to destroy the UOC.
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