Washington, D.C., December 24, 2025
Union of Orthodox Journaslists
One of the reasons the Day of Action organized by Society of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco was so successful was because the nearly 200 Orthodox Christians who went to Capitol Hill to speak out in defense of the persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church looked very Orthodox, a leading Ukrainian lobbyist said recently.
Therefore, the Ukrainian lobby should send Evangelical pastors and other religious leaders to Washington in priestly attire, since Congressmen don’t know the difference between various types of clergy, Julian Hayda, associate director of public engagement for Razom for Ukraine, a member organization of the American Coalition for Ukraine, said in a phone call in the aftermath of the Society’s event that was leaked to the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
The UOJ previously reported that the lobbyists acknowledge that religious freedom is Ukraine’s “Achilles heel” and that many of the UOC churches destroyed in Ukraine were destroyed by the Ukrainian army.
Imagery shared online by Hayda
“One of the reasons they went so viral is because they were very visibly Orthodox on Capitol Hill, right? That meant that they appeared not to be Russian—there was not a single Russian flag. They appeared to just be a poor, persecuted, American, homegrown religious group,” Hayda said.
That is, the group appeared to be what it was—a group of pan-Orthodox Americans who are concerned about the fate of their brethren in Ukraine.
Hayda continued:
So I would encourage—either through the next summit or through Ukrainian Week, which is coming up, which is organized by a coalition of mostly Evangelical churches—but I would encourage your pastor, even if he doesn’t talk, to put on his most… I mean, they don’t know what the difference is between OCU, UOC, Ukrainian Greek Catholic. All these different churches all dress the same way.
According to Hayda, the right look will lend “moral authority” to the coalition’s positions (which include support for the persecution of the Ukrainians of the UOC).
“So if you have a priest come with black robe and a big metal cross, that will give you moral authority in Congress. The photographs will be very important,” Hayda said.
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