At the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, Bishop Victor reports on the discrimination against UOC

On June 26, with the blessing of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine, Bishop Viсtor Baryshevsky, Head of the Representative Office of the UOC to the International European Organizations, addressed a meeting of the XXIV General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

Bishop Victor Baryshevsky made a report, in which he noted the possibility of overcoming the global crisis by returning to morality and the ideals of serving others – what the Church calls for. That is why it is important to protect the religious sphere from everything that can undermine interfaith peace.

Developing this thesis, His Eminence drew the attention of the audience to the possibility of adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of anti-church bills Nos. 4128, 4511 and 5309. That could lead to a massive seizure of the property of religious structures operating in the country.

Bishop Victor also noted that these actions of the Ukrainian parliament cause sharp criticism of other faiths of Ukraine: "Jews, Catholics, Lutherans are an incomplete list of religious organizations that are afraid of raiding against church property after the adoption of appropriate legislative initiatives."

In the report, Bishop Victor listed the problems faced by the canonical Church in Ukraine: these are public hate speech towards the UOC, and the Ministry of Culture’s blocking the registration of the statutes of religious organizations.

The Head of the Representative Office of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the International European Organizations urged the present parliamentarians to assist in preventing the adoption of anti-church bills capable of destroying inter-confessional stability in Ukraine.

The Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy was established in 1993 in the city of Halkidiki (Greece). Representatives from 24 countries participate in the IAO. Its participants are in favor of supporting the role of Orthodox culture as a unifying force in Eastern Europe. This year the Assembly began its work in Rome on 25 June and will last until 30 June. The participants speak about the Christian dimension of the global crisis, as well as ways to overcome it. Among the speakers and guests of honor of the forum there are representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, legislative bodies of several European countries, international organizations and the scientific community. The meetings of the IAO are held in the building of the Italian Parliament in Rome.

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