The Locum Tenens of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Onufrii on Thursday sent an open appeal to the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, asking for his personal intervention to put an end to the increasingly frequent cases of arson and the attempts of seizure of churches of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.

" Not so long ago was the burning of churches in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, committed acts of vandalism and attempted seizure of churches and other buildings, which belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church ", - says the statement of Metropolitan Onufry, published on the Internet representation of the UOC.

The special concern of the UOC caused by the situation formed on June 22 at the Kievo-Pechersk Lavra, where gathered that day a large number of violent and armed men." It looked like an attempt of seizure of the monastery. By the grace of God and because of the professional actions of the police organization, the situation could be handled. However, there could be another scenario, which would become human and the strengthening of the division of society ", - the document says.

Metropolitan Onufrii asks Poroshenko himself to interfere in the situation and to use All means to prevent attacks and raids on churches and monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church ".

in addition, the vicar of the UOC-MP emphasized the President of Ukraine on that in mass media for the last period of time periodically receive the messages which " distorts " the Church's position on the situation in Ukraine." Was no exception and the coverage of the events surrounding the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. All this we see as attempts to artificially oppose the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-society. Such actions are dangerous violations of interreligious peace and public safety ", - the statement stresses.

Ukraine currently operates the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which is a self-governing Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and unrecognized by the world Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC).

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sections: Politics