My name is Theodore Karakostas and I am a Greek Orthodox Christian. This is not a political letter, but a letter motivated by concerns over religion, democracy, and freedom of conscience.
At the present time, the Ukrainian government is attempting to outlaw the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This Church is one of three religious institutions claiming to be an Orthodox Church in that country. The dogmatic and ecclesiological matters are a matter of importance to Orthodox Christians and so I will not delve into this particular matter.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (not to be confused with the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine) has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite this, the Zelensky government is intent on outlawing the Church and has permitted angry mobs with fascist sympathies to seize Churches in order to give them to the religious institution presently favored by the Kiev government. In a democratic society, the government should not care where people choose to worship and citizens should not be discriminated against or suffer violence because of choices they make in matters of religion.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been persecuted by the Ukrainian authorities long before the Russians invaded. The Ukrainian government has targeted an entire community because of the choices they make in matters of faith. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is being targeted because it is under the spiritual leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. The hierarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has condemned the Russian invasion and provided support for all Ukrainians regardless of religious affiliation.
At the present time, the Ukrainian authorities are attempting to seize the Kiev Caves Lavra (a monastic complex) of Kiev which is the holiest site in Ukraine. The government is trying to evict the monks and seminarians even though they have done nothing wrong. Angry mobs have been harassing the monks and ordinary Ukrainians who have shown up at the monastery to show their support for the monastery and the monks. There is nothing political about this, and under no circumstances does concern for the freedom of religion for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have any sort of implications regarding the war.
Roman Catholics throughout the world are under the spiritual authority of the Papacy. This does not make Roman Catholics loyal to the Italian government. As a Greek Orthodox, I am under thespiritual authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople from Turkey, and I have no sympathies for the Turkish government. The Ukrainian government is violating the right to religious freedom for millions of Ukrainians. American taxpayers are subsidizing the government of Ukraine.
The American government must demand that the government in Kiev cease and desist from interfering in the religious lives of its citizens. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church must be granted the same rights and recognitions that other religious institutions in Ukraine enjoy.
Theodore Karakostas
Milton
Categories
2 replies on “Letter To Senator”
Good letter. In point of fact, the OCU (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) was created at the behest of the Kiev regime in 2018 specifically for this purpose-to expropriate UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church) property and harass the Priests, Nuns and Monks who belong to the traditional UOC. These actions are shameful and worthy of censure by the USA, but the US news media has not reported it and US pols have avoided the topic. In doing so they’ve tarnished the image of the USA as a nation who believes in Religious Rights and they’ve damaged the image of all US citizens around the world by association.
Thanks. The OCU is an artificial creation brought into being for strictly political purposes by the former government of Petro Poroshenko and the State Department. If they were reasonable, they would all endorse the idea that all Ukrainians should go to Church where they like. But they are all repressing the canonical Ukrainian Church. It is truly appalling and shocking.