KYIV, Ukraine | Metropolitan Antony of Boryspil, a leading hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate, has accused the government of intensifying pressure on his Church. Writing in a Ukrainian religious website, he argued that silence in the face of injustice amounts to complicity.
The bishop, one of the strongest advocates of maintaining ties with the Russian Church, said the UOC faces escalating persecution. He cited the confiscation of churches under what he called “pretexts,” the defamation and imprisonment of bishops, and the forced expulsion of believers with threats and violence. He added that the Church’s voice has been excluded from public debate and the media, even as other religious groups portray Ukraine as upholding “high standards” of religious freedom.
Metropolitan Antony disputed such claims, saying his Church — which he described as one of the country’s largest religious communities — is subjected to systematic restrictions. He pointed to cases of clergy conscripted into military service despite legal exemptions for priests. “For the state, these men are not considered clergy, since their religious body is not recognized,” he said, calling the practice blasphemous and an insult to the sacred office.
Drawing parallels to the Roman Empire’s persecution of Christians, he argued that legality does not erase the nature of oppression. He warned fellow religious leaders in Ukraine not to ignore the situation: “Whoever does not defend the truth and the innocently persecuted becomes first an accomplice to injustice, and later its next victim.”
The remarks come as the Ukrainian government recently outlawed the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church for refusing to sever ties with the Russian Patriarchate.
