Patriarch Kirill calls on Pope Francis, UN chief to protect Kiev-Pechersk Lavra abbot
This decision of the court, which is unjust and obviously imposed by the Ukrainian authorities, is aimed at intimidating believers, coercing them to stop defending their religious freedom and holy places, and it is part of the large-scale persecution unleashed by the Ukrainian authorities against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill said
MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has appealed to the heads of local Orthodox Churches, religious figures and representatives of international organizations, informing them about the persecution of Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, the Abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, and asking for help in putting an end to this persecution, the Moscow Patriarchate reported on its website on Saturday.
"I urge you to draw attention to the ongoing persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and to take all possible measures to protect Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl from lawless persecution," Patriarch Kirill’s statement said.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said that on July 14, Kiev’s Solomensky district court ruled that the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra be taken into custody and sent to jail even though he had been under round-the-clock house arrest. Patriarch Kirill said that the court’s ruling was part of the Ukrainian authorities’ relentless attempts to transfer the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in a lawless and forcible manner.
"This decision of the court, which is unjust and obviously imposed by the Ukrainian authorities, is aimed at intimidating believers, coercing them to stop defending their religious freedom and holy places, and it is part of the large-scale persecution unleashed by the Ukrainian authorities against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the statement said.
The letters were sent to leaders of local Orthodox Churches; Pope Francis; Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church; Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Communion; Dr. Jerry Pillay, Secretary General of the World Council of Churches; UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres; OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid; Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric; UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk; and Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) Matteo Mecacci.