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The decision to lead the political project "Orthodox Church of Ukraine" and participate in the cultural war in Ukraine has brought new suffering, internal division, and further delayed the peace that our long-suffering land needs so much. This is stated in the appeal of the Representation of the Ukrainian people addressed to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

"In fact, you are directly involved in the beating of ordinary believers and priests, discrimination against pastors and flocks at the state level, and support calls for the extermination of the Orthodox clergy. You approve of the actions of neo-Nazis and pagans who desecrate churches. You are depriving the Ukrainian people of their roots. And most importantly, you are pushing it to further destruction in the fire of a war ignited in someone else's interests," the document says.

According to the secretary of the Representation, Dmytro Vasilets, neither the clergy nor the laity fully understand the motives of this act, linking it only to Bartholomew's personal material gain and big politics, where Ukraine is defined as a consumable in the war with Russia. "However, even if you committed it for other reasons, you cannot but understand the consequences," Vasilets said, urging the patriarch not to participate in this crime.

"We demand to stop the persecution of believers and clergy of the UOC, to stop the raider seizures of churches and monasteries with the support of local authorities and paramilitary groups. We demand the restoration of the rights of believers and the UOC to access the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. This is the history of our nation and it belongs to the people, not to the political regime and certainly not to you personally. 

The Church in Ukraine is separated from the state, and we are seeking obvious justice: compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and other documents such as the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the OSCE Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security," the letter reads.

According to the Mission, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is one of the pillars of culture and statehood of the Ukrainian people. The illegal and anti-Christian actions against the believers and clergy of the UOC must be stopped immediately.