By Kostas Onisenko
Ukrainian analysts consider the current mass gathering of the faithful of the Russian Church in Ukraine in front of the Ukrainian parliament, as a preparation for the mobilizations in view of the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Ukraine.
Parishioners from various parts of Ukraine, led by priests of the Moscow Patriarchate, arrived at the rally in hired coaches, while the event was organized by the “Miriani” organization, which was recently formed by people close to the Russian Church in Ukraine.
The “prayer” – as the organizers called the rally in front of Verkhovna Rada – was aimed at protesting against “anti-ecclesiastical laws” and in particular the law that obliges the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (under Metropolitan Onufriy) to declare its relationship with the Russian Church within its official name.
Today, this religious association calls itself the “Ukrainian Church” despite the fact that both its charter and the charter of the Moscow Patriarchate show that they are directly connected.
The rally even provoked the reaction of Ukrainian President Zelensky, who rarely speaks on issues of dogma and especially on the conflict between the Russian and Ukrainian Church.
“Look at what is happening today in front of Verkhovna Rada. I am so sorry about that. There are grandmothers and small children. And they are wearing yellow OPFL hats (“Opposition Platform for Life” – is the pro-Russian party in Ukraine, one of the leaders of which is the “Putin’s best man” Viktor Medvedchuk).
And so it happened that everyone is worried about this issue (including the ecclesiastical one), that everyone came out with OPFL hats “, said Zelensky as reported by the Ukrainian media.
What did the Moscow Patriarchate comment?
The website of the Moscow Patriarchate was extensively mentioned in the demonstration. After writing about the formal reasons for the rally, the text also mentioned the essential reasons:
“On behalf of the prayer gathering the High Priest (Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Russian Patriarchate, Archbishop Vasilkovsky Nikolay) invited Volodimir Zelensky to revoke the invitation to Patriarch Bartholomew to visit Ukraine”, writes the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.
He is not the head of our Church, nor is he the official representative of the state from which he comes. He did not bring peace and unity to the Ukrainian Orthodox community. “For the sake of peace in Ukraine, for the sake of your religious peace, we ask for it!” said the hierarch, according to the post.