An ecumenical delegation led by the World Council of Churches (WCC) met with representatives from the Ukrainian government, including deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Olena Kovalska, and head of the State Religious Service Viktor Yelensky.
Kovalska acknowledged the importance of the solidarity visit and the role of WCC in walking with communities toward an end to the war.
She expressed gratitude to the WCC leadership for their ongoing work and support for decades in the field of unity, peace, reconciliation, and justice.
WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed appreciation for a frank and open conversation with government representatives on a variety of topics, including the current situation in Ukraine under the challenges of the war, peace initiatives, freedom of religion, state and church relations, political instability, and perceived corruption. “The WCC will continue to speak against war and plead for dialogues for peace,” he said. “Violence does not bring solutions but only pain, trauma, and suffering on innocent people.”
Moderator of the WCC central committee Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said it was moving to hear from the president’s office about the daily struggles of the Ukrainian people with the continuous threat.
“Children cannot learn as they deserve to because they constantly have to seek shelter against Russian attacks,” he said. “I also take with me the decisiveness with which Ukraine will continue to defend their sovereignty by providing the necessary means to resist the Russian aggression through the next winter and beyond.”
Bedford-Strohm also reflected on the clear assurance by Yelensky that none of the churches in Ukraine, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, will be impeded in their religious freedom. “I am grateful for an open exchange in which we as WCC made very clear that we firmly stand at the side of the Ukrainian people in resisting the invasion,” he said.
Kovalska informed the WCC delegation that no signs indicate Russia’s readiness for peace, and emphasized that the issue of territorial concessions from Ukraine is not being considered in any format. She also spoke about the consequences of massive Russian air attacks and the challenges facing Ukraine on the eve of winter.
Yelensky focused on the uniqueness of Ukraine’s religious landscape. In particular, he drew attention to the fact that Ukrainian society stands out among others for the existence of religious pluralism: “Religious diversity is not the same as religious pluralism. Religious pluralism must be built,” he said. “And our churches have done a lot to turn the existing religious diversity in Ukraine into effective religious pluralism.”
At the same time, Yelensky focused on the crimes committed by Russia against religious freedom in Ukraine and in its temporarily occupied territories. He said that, as a result of Russian attacks, more than 800 church buildings have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 80 clergy members have been killed.
Discussions also focused on the provisions and implementation of the law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Religious Organizations.”
In this context, Yelensky emphasized that for all 35 years since the restoration of Ukraine’s independence, no religious organization has been banned in the state. He particularly drew attention to the fact that this legislative initiative concerns only the Russian Orthodox Church, which has declared war against Ukraine as sacred and calls for the destruction of Ukrainian culture, statehood, and identity.
The delegation included: Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC general secretary; Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the WCC central committee; Rev. Karin van den Broeke, WCC central and executive committee member; H.E. Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionias and Philadelphia, Church of Greece, WCC central committee member and WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs commissioner; Rev. Frank-Dieter Fischbach, Conference of European Churches general secretary; and Marianne Ejdersten, WCC director of communication.
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Source: oikoumene.org / Photos: Oleg Gavrysh
