OSCE Mission Observers visit Zaporizhzhya Diocese of the Ukraininan Orhtodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and express concerns about the provocative publications in mass media
June 18, 2019 – a meeting with representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine took place on the premises of the Zaporizhzhya Diocese’s Administration of the Ukraninan Orhtodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). The Secretary of the UOC Zaporizhzhya Diocese, Archpriest Gennadiy Yelin, posted details of the meeting on his Facebook page, reports the UOC Department of Information and Education.
Discussions centred on issues directly related to current religious life in the Zaporizhzhya region, as well as on other issues of interest throughout all Ukraine.
Representatives of the OSCE mission expressed particular concern about the publication of false news in the mass media regarding the alleged assassination attempt on the ruling hierarch of the Zaporizhzhya Diocese, His Eminence Metropolitan Luka.
The participants of the meeting were also informed that since the day that the Zaporizhzhya Diocese submitted a statement to the police (June 3, 2019) regarding a criminal offense under Part 3 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Violation of the equality of citizens according to their race, nationality, religious beliefs, disability and other grounds…”) that was perpetrated by representatives from the “Democratic Sokyra” political party, there has been absolutely no reaction to speak of from law enforcement authorities to this day.
Sources:
- Department for External Church Relations of the UOC – 20 June 2019, OSCE Mission Observers visit Zaporizhzhya Eparchy and express concerns due to provocative publications in mass media
- UOC Department of Information and Education – 19 June 2019, “OSCE Mission Observers visit Zaporizhzhya Eparchy and express concerns due to provocative publications in mass media”
- The Secretary of the UOC Zaporizhzhya Diocese, Archpriest Gennadiy Yelin’s Facebook page – post of 18 June 2019
Related Publications:
- June 6, 2019 – The Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continues to publish its Information Bulletin on Rights Violations of UOC parishioners and clergy.
- April 20, 2019 – The Constitutional Court has opened legal proceedings over a complaint about the discriminatory law against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
- April 9, 2019 – Problem of violation of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s faithful raised at OSCE meeting