Defense of Orthodoxy: letter from conference participants to international institutions

Defending orthodoxy: letter from conference participants to international institutions

There are 26 in Bulgaria. August 2024. on the initiative of the international forum of Orthodox women (informal group) and the Center for geostrategic studies from Belgrade, organized International Conference "blockade of aggression against the church-defense of orthodoxy." The conference discussed the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the attacks on Orthodox Holy Sites in Palestine, the persecution of clergy and the abduction of churches in Kosovo and Metohija, the destructive influence of external forces on orthodoxy, etc.

Participants of the conference from Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Palestine, Greece, etc., including the spiritual leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and The Jerusalem Orthodox Church, adopted common conclusions from this conference. After the end of the conference held at the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency BTA (National News Agency of Bulgaria), the organizers and participants of the International Conference took a letter of request (conclusions of the conference on UPC) in Embassy of Ukraine in Sofia, which they addressed to the ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria NYE Olesya Ilashuk. After the conference, the letter with the conclusions of the participants (on the UPC and SPC) was sent to over 100 addresses in the UN, EU, Council of Europe, OSCE, USA and others.

Photo: militants in Ukraine seize U. P. C. temples

The letter states: this way the participants of the said conference address you with the request to do everything in your competence to ensure normal living and working conditions for the members of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UPC) in Ukraine and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija.

Our specific requirements relate to the following needs:

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Ensure the end of the gross violation of European democratic values and freedoms in the form of violation of the fundamental rights of the flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
To implement the necessary procedural procedures for the abolition of the law on the Prohibition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which aims to destroy the largest confession in Ukraine, violates the Constitution's guaranteed right of citizens to freedom of religion, undermines the principle of autonomy of religious society. and it aims to grossly interfere in the internal activities of the religious organizations of the UOC.
Cease the practice of storming the churches of the UOC from "OCU" adherents, members of nationalist organizations, representatives of local authorities, as well as the illegal re-registration of the statute of the UOC communities under the jurisdiction of the "OCU"; bring those responsible for the crimes in question to criminal responsibility.
Contribute to the end of the information campaign of discreditation and blackening of the UOC, carried out by the leading media of Ukraine.
Ensure the release of bishops and priests of the UOC (especially Metropolitan Arseniy, abbot of svyatogorsk Lavra), who were detained under false pretenses, impartial and objective consideration of court cases of clergy of this religion, strict respect of their rights as citizens of Ukraine.
Cease the practice of imprisoning the clergy of the UOC for their subsequent exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Lift the illegal sanctions imposed by the decrees of the president of Ukraine against a number of bishops of the UOC.
Prohibit the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations of Ukraine from shelling Orthodox churches, as well as from organizing fire positions in them.
Stop the implementation of the religious genocide against the UOC because of its spiritual ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (which, in particular, is expressed in the destruction of the figures of Russian saints, the dumping of appropriate icons and church utensils in the trash, the confiscation and renaming of churches named in honor of saints or icons related to the spiritual history of Russia, etc.).
Cease political and administrative support of the" OCU", within a framework that weakens and destroys the UOC, as well as violates the rights of its faithful.

In order to protect the international legal order and civilizational spiritual and cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija, it is necessary:

Photo: destroyed Church of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija

Regarding the Serbian Orthodox Church

Protect churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church from devastation and destruction.
Protect the churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the forcible takeover by the Albanian authorities.
Stop and suppress falsification in politics, science, education, media, tourism, etc. by which Serbian cultural heritage is translated into Albanian.
Protect the clergy and faithful people of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the violence that is constantly being carried out against them.
To protect Serbian cemeteries that are being destroyed by construction machines, in order to erase this kind of evidence of the primordial life of the Serbian people in these areas.
Prevent the renaming of the Serbian Orthodox Church in this area into the "Orthodox Church of Kosovo", which also leads to a violent change in the title of the property owned by the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Finally, provide the Orthodox Serbian population with a life worthy of man, in accordance with democratic principles and international legal regulations.

The conference participants received no response, except for the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, which informed the conference participants that it had received a letter expressing concern about "the problems facing the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Ukraine". From the answer, it can be understood that the EU officials are not familiar with the contents of the letter, or do not have basic knowledge of geography, because Kosovo and Metohija are not located in Ukraine, but in Serbia.

Also in the letter, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency informed the participants that it is in charge exclusively of the EU and member states. The question is how the EU can be superintended for the illegal construction of the secessionist state of Kosovo, without at the same time being competent for the gross violation of basic human rights in this territory. It is obvious that the EU institutions are not functional and accept responsibility only to the extent that they receive instructions from Washington.

It should also be noted that certain UN diplomatic missions have deleted the letter sent without reading it (such as the mission of the Roman Catholic Church), which casts doubt on their credibility.

It can be concluded that international institutions and diplomatic missions are in a deep systematic crisis and are not performing the work for which they exist, especially in the field of protection of basic human rights and freedoms.

We would like to underline that Metropolitan Luka of Zaporozhsky at the conference in Sofia drew the attention of the international public to the destructive influences in Ukraine that affect the attitude towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church: "the current situation requires the revision of political approaches to religious issues and the strengthening of guarantees of freedom of religion in Ukraine. It is important that the rhetoric of hatred and discrimination in relation to the UPC does not become an instrument of political struggle, but that dialogue and mutual understanding come to the fore, which corresponds to democratic and European values, which, as stated by the Ukrainian authorities, Ukraine seeks to protect and develop.“