NEW YORK, March 28. /TASS/. The Orthodox Church in America denounces any religious persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada said in a statement on Tuesday.
"While recognizing the legitimate need of states to ensure their security, especially in times of war, we also decry restrictions on the religious freedom of any group in Ukraine and especially denounce any generalized religious persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry," the statement reads.
"We once again assure Metropolitan Onufry, his clergy, and the Ukrainian faithful, who are beset by troubles on all sides, that the Orthodox Church in America stands ready to support the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, both with our prayers and by any other means at our disposal," Metropolitan Tikhon added.
According to him, the Orthodox Church in America "has a special historical relationship with the holy traditions of Orthodox Christianity originating from the churches of Rus, and the mother city of all the peoples and churches of Rus in general, and of Ukraine in particular, is Kiev."
"Thus it is with special concern that we observe the recent developments in the relationship between the civil authorities of Ukraine and the monastic brethren from the Kiev Caves Lavra, the motherhouse of monasticism in Rus and in Ukraine in particular," Metropolitan Tikhon emphasized.
On March 10, the directorate of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra reserve terminated the open-ended lease with the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and ordered its monks to leave the monastery by March 29. The Lavra’s abbot, Metropolitan Pavel, slammed these actions as illegal and declared the monks’ refusal to leave. On March 20, the members of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Onufry, arrived at the office of Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky to state their position only to be denied an audience. On March 23, the Synod issued an appeal to the highest hierarchs, clergy and parishioners to protect the Church’s right to stay in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.