[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
CHURCH, STATE, AND RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
APRIL 27, 2023
__________
Printed for the use of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe
[CSCE118-3]
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via www.csce.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
52-494 WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION
U.S. HOUSE U.S SENATE
JOE WILSON, South Carolina Chairman BEN CARDIN, Maryland Co-Chairman
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee Ranking ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
Member Ranking Member
ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
EMANUEL CLEAVER II, Missouri JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
RUBEN GALLEGO, Arizona JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina THOM TILLIS, North Carolina
MIKE LAWLER, New York SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin
VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
MARC VEASEY, Texas
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Department of State - to be appointed
Department of Defense - to be appointed
Department of Commerce - to be appointed
C O N T E N T S
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Page
COMMISSIONERS
Hon. Joe Wilson, Chairman, from South Carolina................... 1
Hon. Steve Cohen, Ranking Member, from Tennessee................. 3
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver, from Missouri.............................. 15
Hon. Mike Lawler, from New York.................................. 17
Hon. Marc Veasey, from Texas..................................... 18
Hon. Victoria Spartz, from Indiana............................... 20
Hon. Sheila Jackson Lee, from Texas.............................. 22
COMMITTEE STAFF
Demitra Pappas, Senior Advisor for the Department of State,
Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe.............. 6
WITNESSES
His Beatitude Epiphaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine.... 5
The Most Reverend Yevstratiy [Zoria], Metropolitan of Bila
Tserkva........................................................ 12
Reverend Dr. Igor Bandura, Vice President of International
Affairs for the Baptist Union of Ukraine....................... 7
CHURCH, STATE, AND RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE
----------
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN
EUROPE,
U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Thursday, April 27, 2023.
The hearing was held from 1:06 p.m. to 2:50 p.m., room 2020
Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, Representative
Joe Wilson [R-SC], Chairman, Commission for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, presiding.
Committee Members Present: Representative Joe Wilson [R-
SC], Chairman; Representative Steve Cohen [D-TN], Ranking
Member; Representative Emanuel Cleaver [D-MO]; Representative
Mike Lawler [R-NY]; Representative Marc Veasey [D-TX];
Representative Victoria Spartz [R-IN]; Representative Sheila
Jackson Lee [D-TX].
Committee Staff Present: Demitra Pappas, Senior Advisor for
the Department of State, Commission for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
Witnesses: His Beatitude Epiphaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv
and all Ukraine; The Most Reverend Yevstratiy [Zoria],
Metropolitan of Bila Tserkva; Reverend Dr. Igor Bandura, Vice
President of International Affairs for the Baptist Union of
Ukraine.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOE WILSON, CHAIRMAN, U.S. HOUSE FROM
SOUTH CAROLINA
Representative Wilson: Good afternoon, all who have joined
us today.
Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the ranking
member, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, is present.
Additionally, we are really very fortunate to have Chaplain
Margaret Kibben with us. She is the Chaplain of the House of
Representatives. Additionally, she is an Admiral in the U.S.
Navy. Then last month she actually visited Kyiv, Ukraine, and
visited with religious leaders of Ukraine. So she is certainly
a superstar standing up for the people of Ukraine, and so much
appreciated.
We will have other members of the Commission come in and
out. As always, there is so many competing meetings
simultaneously.
As we begin today, it has been an historic day for
Congressman Cohen and myself to be on the House floor, and that
is we had a wonderful presentation today by the president of
the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. President Yoon gave an
excellent speech to the people of the United States, and it was
just an extraordinary opportunity. I would like to read part of
what he said because it relates to what we are doing today.
That is: "My friends, freedom and democracy are once again
under threat. The war against Ukraine is a violation of
international law. It is an attempt to unilaterally change the
status quo with force. Korea strongly condemns the unprovoked
and armed attack against Ukraine. When North Korea invaded us
in 1950, democracies came running to help us. We fought
together. We kept our freedom. The rest is history. Korea's
experience shows us just how important it is for democracies to
uphold solidarity. Korea will stand in solidarity with the free
world. We will actively work and safeguard the freedom of the
people of Ukraine and support their efforts in reconstruction."
What a remarkable indication of solidarity, perfectly
clear, which is particularly incredible in that in 1960 after
the Korean War the per capita income of Korea was $67. Today,
it is well over 30,000 dollars and it went from an economy of
zero to being the 10th largest economy in the world. So free
markets work, democracy works, and what a message for us to
receive today. What an encouragement it can be for the people
of Ukraine.
Additionally, as we begin I would like to introduce for the
record from The New York Times an article of December 31, 2022,
and it is ``Clergymen or Spies? Churches Become Tools of War in
Ukraine.'' Additionally, from Time Magazine of April 15, 2022,
``How the Russian Orthodox Church is Helping Drive Putin's War
in Ukraine.'' Without any objection, they shall be entered into
the record.
I would also like to have these records in place and how
important they are, which shows that this is not a new topic
but current events. Arrest of Moscow-linked priests have
brought things to a much clearer focus, which we will hear
about today.
The Helsinki Commission has long championed the need to
protect freedom of religion and belief. Although Ukraine is a
state of diverse religions, today's hearing will focus on the
largest religious group in Ukraine--that is, Christians. We
cannot talk about Christians in Ukraine without discussing war
criminal Putin's full-scale war. The war has made life
dangerous for many Christians in occupied areas of Ukraine, who
not only have to worry about their physical safety but the
protection of other freedoms, including the right to believe
and worship according to one's conscience.
Occupation authorities have used various tactics to deny
believers the right to practice their faith, including by de
facto banning religious groups not approved by the Russian-led
occupation governments and destroying religious materials. The
main targets are Christians not affiliated with the Moscow-
controlled Ukrainian Orthodox Church, an arm of the Russian
Orthodox Church, and any other nontraditional religions or
beliefs--that is, religions that are not--cannot be controlled
by the Kremlin.
Putin is also creating an additional challenge for the
Ukrainian Government. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
technically under Moscow's control though the level of loyalty
may vary; the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which officially
split off from the former, are fighting for the future of
Orthodoxy in Ukraine. The Kremlin has used Orthodox priests
reporting to Moscow to engage in criminal activities against
Ukraine on behalf of Putin, including full-blown wartime
collaboration, even storing weapons. Ukrainian authorities
have, sadly, found evidence of this. Patriarch Kirill, the
leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has bizarrely contrived
Putin's war, resulting in mass murder of Ukrainian men, women,
and children, as, quote, ``An Apocalyptic Battle Against
Evil.''
Human rights experts have witnessed targeting of pastors
and churches by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, particularly
of Evangelical Christians. Sacred sites have been destroyed and
looted by the hundreds. This is not surprising. Putin imposes
widespread restrictions on Christians sharing their faith in
Russia.
Finally, given that our witnesses are all clergy
themselves, I hope we will be able to discuss what religious
communities around the world are doing to support Ukrainians
and the role of Christians in Ukraine during wartime. Our
esteemed witnesses today are well-qualified to speak to the
diversity of Ukrainian Christianity.
First, we will hear from--a video message from Kyiv by His
Beatitude Epiphaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine, the
leader of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. We thank His
Beatitude and his--in particular for his time and his
recognition of the importance of the discussion of Ukraine.
Next, speaking on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
and coming to us from Ukraine via video is The Most Reverend
Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva.
Joining us in Washington is the Reverend Dr. Igor Bandura,
the Vice President of the International Affairs for the Baptist
Union of Ukraine.
Unfortunately, we learned this morning The Most Reverend
Borys Gudziak, the Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic
Archeparchy of Philadelphia and President of the Ukrainian
Catholic University in Lviv, will not be able to join us due to
unforeseen family circumstances. I encourage you to read his
excellent testimony, which we will be providing to you today.
With this, I want to turn to our ranking member, Steve
Cohen, for any remarks. After that, we will hear from the
Metropolitan Epiphaniy.
STATEMENT OF STEVE COHEN, RANKING MEMBER, U.S. HOUSE FROM
TENNESSEE
Representative Cohen: Thank you, Mr. --thank you, Mr.
Chair. Is this working Okay? No. Does this need to work? Thank
you, Mr. Chair.
It is an important--this is an important issue to be
discussed. I look forward to the witnesses and their testimony
and learning more about the issues with religion --[comes on
mic]--oh, smart. Thank you.
I look forward to hearing from the witnesses and learning
more about which religion and the church has played in Russia
and in Ukraine. I was in Russia many years ago when I was--
learned about the musical group Pussy Riot and that they had
demonstrated in a church not too far from the Kremlin. Their
punishment was way more severe than it should have been, and
they were sentenced, I believe, to Siberia, and they were
punished for quite a while. The reason, as I was told, was
because Putin wanted to have a relationship with Patriarch
Kirill as part of a political patron relationship, and so they
used that as a way to show his support for the church.
Putin claims to be very religious. I have never known a
person who was religious and truly religious in terms of the
way religion is supposed to be, not necessarily being a member
of an organization, a member of a church, a dues-paying member,
and somebody who stands up on Sunday or Friday or whatever the
appropriate day is, who is in favor of killing his fellow
citizens, condoning the rape of children and women, and the
activities that Putin is engaged in in Ukraine and other
places. Those are far from religious. They are the antithesis
of religion. He has a relationship with Patriarch Kirill, which
is really one that is not a holy relationship. I would like to
learn more about what that relationship has been over the years
and how in Ukraine the church that is more affiliated with
Moscow, if they have actually committed offenses against the
State in working for Russia and undermining the Ukrainian
efforts. They deserve justice, but they also should not be
working against the Ukrainian State in support of Moscow.
I look forward to the testimony and hope that we will be
able--and I also want to say this. I just came from a program
honoring the 75th birthday of Israel. I read of the religions
in our briefing papers in Ukraine, and predominantly they are
the Orthodox religions. There are some Catholics, a few
Baptists, and some others. Jews are not mentioned. Yet, before
Germany and its Nazi invasion and Nazi efforts, there were lots
of Jews in Ukraine. In fact, the program I went to was honoring
Golda Meir, who immigrated from Ukraine to Milwaukee and then
to Israel. There were a lot of Jews in Russia, too, but what I
have learned lately is that what Jews have been told in Russia
is: Get out, this is not a safe place for Jewish people.
There is all kind of religious persecution going on by
Putin in Russia and there has historically been by Nazis in
Germany and what they tried--what they did to the Jews in the
Holocaust. I personally see Putin as the successor to Hitler as
far as engaging in genocide against the Ukrainian people and
his activities there, which are reprehensible. I yield back the
balance of my time.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Ranking Member
Steve Cohen of Tennessee.
With this, we will have a video from Kyiv with His
Beatitude Epiphaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, and
the leader of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. We now look
forward to the video.
[Pause for technical difficulties.]
Representative Cohen: Just in the interest of
bipartisanship, Trump said she was not his type. [Laughter.]
[Pause for technical difficulties]
[A video presentation begins with His Beatitude Ephiphany]
TESTIMONY OF HIS BEATITUDE EPIPHANIY, METROPOLITAN OF KYIV AND
ALL UKRAINE
His Beatitude Epiphaniy: [Translated from the original
Ukrainian] Honorable members of the U.S. Congress,
distinguished guests, I deeply regret that for reasons beyond
my control I am unable to join this important event dedicated
to the protection of freedom of religion--one of the
fundamental freedoms--in person.
Ukrainians are proud that from the very beginning of the
restoration of Ukraine's independence, our state has been and
remains committed to freedom of religion. This has made it
possible, after years of Soviet repression and State atheism,
to revive religious life in its diversity and to create
effective mechanisms of interreligious and interconfessional
cooperation, such as the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and
Religious Organizations.
In its hybrid war against Ukraine, Russia has unleashed new
types of threat to religious freedom, including the Kremlin's
use of a pseudo-Christian ideology to justify aggression and
the coopting of all large religious bodies in Russia, most
significantly the Moscow Patriarchate, as tools of propaganda
and influence. In Russia itself, there is no real freedom of
religion--both at the level of laws that severely limit the
activities of religious organizations and put them under
government control, and even more so at the level of practice.
The situation is even worse in the territories of Ukraine
occupied by Russia, where all Ukrainian religious organizations
that are not loyal to the occupation authorities are
persecuted. Our priests are kidnapped and harassed, forced to
join the Russian Orthodox Church and cooperate with the
occupiers. The property of the religious communities is seized
and used as desired by the occupiers. Ukrainian citizens are
forcibly compelled to accept Russian passports and treated as
citizens of Russia. Without a Russian passport, residents of
the occupied territories become effectively illegal. The
structures of the Russian Orthodox Church in the occupied
territories are actually one of the instruments of influence
and control.
Metropolitan Yevstratiy will in his address illustrate a
number of specific threats, but in closing my remarks I want to
draw attention to one key threat: The Russian Orthodox Church
and its governing structure, the Moscow Patriarchate headed by
Kirill Gundyaev, do not just cooperate with the Kremlin--they
themselves have become part of the Russian State apparatus. The
Moscow Patriarchate is not like a traditional religious body.
In reality, it is a Russian Government agency that performs the
functions of managing and controlling religious life, not only
in Russia but also everywhere the Russian Church has spread.
Professing conservative values through this patriarchate, the
Kremlin seeks to recruit a range of religious bodies as
partners or allies, particularly in America. In essence, the
Moscow Patriarchate is in the religious dimension what the
network RT--Russia Today--is in the information space: an
instrument of propaganda and hybrid aggression.
Ukraine and the entire free world must respond to this
challenge of religious institutions that have been transformed
into instruments of aggression and war. I hope that appropriate
proposals for the U.S. Congress will be the fruit of these
hearings.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the
Congress, Government, and the people of the United States of
America for supporting Ukraine and our people in the struggle
for freedom against tyranny. May God guide you in your
deliberations, and may God bless us all.
[Video presentation ends.]
Representative Wilson: Ladies and gentlemen, we have been
joined by our other colleagues, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
from Missouri, and we also have Congressman Mike Lawler from
New York. So--and it continues the bipartisan composition of
this Commission, which, again, I like to point out,
unintentionally war criminal Putin has unified Republicans and
Democrats to stand up for the people of Ukraine. We are here
and live.
Then we have just been joined by Congresswoman Victoria
Spartz, and Victoria herself is the first person born in
Ukraine who has been elected to serve in the Congress of the
United States. She is a superstar by herself, so we are really
grateful for Victoria's service.
The testimony has been so important that I am very grateful
that Demitra Pappas of the State Department will be reading the
English translation of the presentation we just had.
Ms. Pappas: Honorable members of the U.S. Congress,
distinguished guests, I deeply regret that for reasons beyond
my control I am unable to join this important event dedicated
to the protection of religious freedom, one of the fundamental
freedoms, in person.
Ukrainians are proud that from the very beginning of the
restoration of Ukraine's independence, our state has been and
remains committed to freedom of religion. This has made it
possible, after years of Soviet repression and state atheism,
to revive religious life in its diversity and to create
effective mechanisms of interreligious and interconfessional
cooperation, such as the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and
Religious Organizations.
In its hybrid war against Ukraine, Russia has unleashed new
types of threat to religious freedom, including the Kremlin's
use of a pseudo-Christian ideology to justify aggression, and
the co-opting of all large religious bodies in Russia, most
significantly the Moscow Patriarchate, as tools of propaganda
and influence. In Russia itself, there is no real freedom of
religion, both at the level of laws that significant limit the
activities of religious organizations and put them under
governmental control, and even more so at the level of
practice.
The situation is even worse in the territories of Ukraine
occupied by Russia, where all Ukrainian religious organizations
are not--that are not loyal to the occupation authorities are
persecuted. Our priests are kidnapped and harassed, forced to
join the Russian Orthodox Church and cooperate with the
occupiers. The property of religious communities is seized and
used as desired by the occupiers. Ukrainian citizens are
forcibly compelled to accept Russian passports and treated as
citizens of Russia. Without a Russian passport, residents of
the occupied territories become effectively illegal.
The structures of the Russian Orthodox Church in the
occupied territories are actually one of the instruments of
influence and control. Metropolitan Yevstratiy will in his
address illustrate a number of specific threats. In closing my
remarks, I want to draw attention to one key threat, the
Russian Orthodox Church and its governing structure, the Moscow
Patriarchate, headed by Kirill Gundyaev, do not just cooperate
with the Kremlin. They themselves have become part of the
Russian State apparatus. The Moscow Patriarchate is not like a
traditional religious body. In reality, it is a Russian
Government Agency that performs the functions of managing and
controlling religious life, not only in Russia but also
everywhere the Russian church has spread.
Professing conservative values through the patriarchate,
the Kremlin seeks to recruit a range of religious bodies as
partners or allies, particularly in America. In essence, the
Moscow Patriarchate is in the religious dimension of that the
network RT, Russia Today, is in the information space--an
instrument of propaganda and hybrid aggression. Ukraine, and
the entire free world, must respond to this challenge of
religious institutions that have been transformed into
instruments of aggression and war. I hope that appropriate
proposals for the U.S. Congress will be the fruit of these
hearings.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the
Congress, Government, and people of the United States of
America for supporting Ukraine, our people--and our people in
this struggle for freedom against tyranny. May God guide you in
your deliberations. May God bless us all. Metropolitan
Epiphaniy.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Ms. Pappas.
What a moving testimony, and from the heart, you can tell. As
we proceed, we now have The Most Reverend Metropolitan
Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva by video.
[Pause for technical difficulties.]
Representative Wilson: With technical difficulties, we will
proceed immediately to our next witness. We re so grateful to
have Reverend Dr. Igor Bandura with us. He is the Vice
President of international affairs for the Baptist Union of
Ukraine. So, Reverend, thank you so much for being here, and we
look forward to your testimony.
TESTIMONY OF REVEREND DR. IGOR BANDURA, VICE PRESIDENT OF
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FOR THE BAPTIST UNION OF UKRAINE
Dr. Bandura: Dear Mr. Chairman, dear members of the
committee, dear attendees, I have the honor to testify before
you today representing the Evangelical Protestant Churches of
Ukraine. [Comes on mic.]
Dear Mr. Chairman, dear members of the committee, dear
attendees, I have the honor to testify before you today
representing the Evangelical Protestant churches of Ukraine.
Today I speak on behalf of more than 6,000 churches, the
largest group of Evangelical Protestant churches in Europe.
As a minister of a Baptist Church, I want to point out the
experience of religious oppressions and persecution during the
Russian War against Ukraine is common to all Evangelical
Protestant Churches. In the last document that was published on
April 11, 2023, after the meeting of the chairman of the
Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, with the Ukrainian
Council of Churches and the religious organization on the issue
of state-church relations in the context of the Russian war
against Ukraine, it was noted, quote, ``Ukraine is known in the
world for its high level of religious freedom, religious
pluralism, the absence of a State church, the equality of all
religious organization before the law, developed interreligious
dialog and cooperation between different churches. During the
war, caused by Russian unjustified aggression, a high level of
freedom of religion is maintained in Ukraine. There are no
religious persecution, and democratic institutions and
procedure continue to operate.'' The end of the quote.
The only places where the problems with religious freedom
have occurred are the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia
in 2014 and then, since the beginning of the massive aggression
started on February 24, 2022. The situation also looked
depressing since almost all the leaders of main religious
denominations in Russia directly or indirectly supported
Russia's war against Ukraine and thereby agreed to the
suffering of their fellow believers in Ukraine.
The concept of religious freedom for all turned out to be
not only unacceptable and foreign for the Russian Government,
which brought destruction and actually invited slavery to
Ukrainians, but also aligned to the main religious
denominations of Russia, which themselves suffer from
restriction of religious freedom by the State.
The situation since 2014. Evangelical Protestant Churches
in the occupied Crimea found themselves in a situation of
religious restrictions during the period of the late Soviet
Union. All life and activity is localized exclusively in church
premises. As one minister testified, quote, ``They beat us, but
they do not even let us cry.'' This emotional assessment
reflects a general situation at the current moment.
On the territories of the occupied Luhansk region, Baptist
Churches, together with Jehovah's Witnesses, were recognized as
terrorist organizations with all the correspondent
consequences. All churches have lost their State registration,
and to this day are in an uncertain status and full restriction
of religious right.
Churches in the occupied territory of Donetsk region are in
a slightly easier situation, but they also do not have legal
status and are completely limited in their activities. A
sufficient number of testimonies and materials have been
collected since 2014 and transferred to various international
human rights organizations.
I had the honor of being a part of the Ukrainian delegation
in 2014 and participating in the similar hearing in the U.S.
Congress on the situation with religious restrictions in the
territories occupied by Russia. Unfortunately, since then, the
situation has only worsened.
The situation since February 24, 2022--since the beginning
of the war--and here I can recommend to look at these materials
which have some statistics, and also there are two pages of
testimonies and some QR code you can go and see video
testimonies of real people--pastors and priests--and their
experience of being under religious oppression. Since the
beginning of the war, 172 church buildings have been
significantly damaged or completely destroyed--among them:
Pentecostals, 75; Baptists, 51; Adventists, 24; others, 22. The
buildings of three seminaries were bombed and looted--among
them: Baptists, two educational institutions in Kherson and
Irpin; and Pentecostal, one educational institution in Kyiv.
This is a testimony of president of Tavriski Christian
Institute. Quote, ``When Ukrainian Evangelicals have been
experiencing various forms of persecution from Russian
occupants during the occupation of the Kherson region. This is
an example of the religious persecution initiated by the
Russian Army as a property of the institute and Evangelical
Seminary in Kherson, which was occupied on March 11, 2022, and
liberated 8 months after. TCI Seminary in Kherson was a key
Evangelical school in the south of Ukraine. However, it was
occupied by Russian Army and turned into a military base and
hospital. Since then, the campus has been robbed, and all
valuables were stolen. Five campus buildings were completely
ruined, and Christian literature in English and Ukrainian
translations was burned or sent to a dump, as Russians
considered it propaganda literature.
Furthermore, Christian paintings were destroyed or stolen.
Russian soldiers also threatened local Christians, including
TCI Staff, by saying that they deserved to be eliminated or dug
into the ground. This kind of threat is not only terrifying,
but also excludes any church from the right to exist except for
the Russian Orthodox Church.
The occupation of TCI Seminary has had a significant
emotional impact on its staff and local Christian community
which cannot be underestimated as it affects the well-being of
the local Christian community. Besides, it will have a long-
lasting, negative impact on the development of Evangelical
Churches and education in the region.
It is essential to ensure that the Ukrainian Evangelical
community in Kherson region can restore its churches and
seminaries, and that local believers can go back to worship and
education.'' The end of the quote.
Two hundred thirty churches that belong to the Baptist
Union ceased to exist in the occupied territories. Most of the
church members and pastors had to leave, saving their lives.
These people lost not only their churches, but all their homes,
and their usual life. Most families are separated. People are
scattered all over the country. Thousands were forced to
evacuate to Russia. Many are still there, and some found their
way out of Russia, and together with millions of others became
refugees in European countries and even in the United States of
America.
The ideology of Russian world, carried by the occupying
Russian Army, does not tolerate either freedom or freedom of
religion. All churches that are not Orthodox or the Moscow
Patriarchate must disappear. We are talking about the
existential threat for Evangelical believers.
One example of occupied Vasylivka--on June 12, 2022, armed
Russian occupiers came to the local church in the city of
Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia region, drove everyone out of the house
of prayer, conducted a search, then sealed the building, took
the keys, and said that totalitarian sects have no place in
liberated Vasylivka. The pastor of the church, Mikolo Zholovan
was placed under house arrest, having previously confiscated
computer disk with all available information. Then, at the end
of June, the pastor was arrested and held in the so-called
Military Commandant's Office for almost 2 days. In the end the
pastor was released, but the premises of the house of prayer
were never returned. Numerous attempts to return it--by the
way, the building is a historical monument--were unsuccessful.
The church building has not yet been returned to the church.
There are many cases of abuse, kidnapping and torture of
pastors and active church members. Of course we understand that
many cases cannot be documented because the number of victims
who are not ready to give public testimony about the horrors
they experienced. Among the main reasons are shame, and danger
for themselves or their relatives who still stayed in the
occupied territories, or those who were forcibly deported to
Russia. There is two examples.
One, Oleg Bondarenko, Pentecostal Pastor. He is a minister
of the Christian Rehabilitation Center attached to the
Pentecostal Church in the village of Motyzhyn, Kyiv region. At
the beginning of the invasion, the Russians captured this
center because they decided that there was a Ukrainian Military
base there. They said the drug rehab center was a cover. Oleg
was arrested and spent three days in prison. He himself was
tortured, and also can hear the screams of civilians being
killed by Russians. They tied me to the railing, he said. They
started practicing blows. Then I was tied to a quad bike and
dragged to the base where they tortured people.
Oleg was in a well without water for two days. When the
Ukrainian Military counterattacked, Oleg prayed that the
Russians would simply forget about him as they retreated. On
March 27, he managed to escape.
Alexander Salfetnikov is the pastor of the Light of the
Gospel Church in Balakleya. This is a city that has been under
the occupation of the Russian Army since the first days of the
full-scale invasion. During the first two months of the
occupation, Alexander, together with his team of church
members, had been helping to evacuate people to peaceful
territories and providing humanitarian help to people in need.
Every Sunday he faithfully conducted church services.
On May 17, the Russian military arrested him. Russian
soldiers came to him, put a bag on his head, and took him to a
cell. Although it was designed for two or three people, 18
people were there. Later he was taken to the first
interrogation during which he was severely beaten. Alexander
noticed that the interrogation was conducted by a man who
furiously hated Evangelical Christians.
During the second interrogation, Alexander was accused of
being an American agent. He was beaten again so that he could
no longer stand on his feet. After that, he became so sick that
he was taken to the hospital. After the hospital, he was
brought home because he could not walk. For a long time he was
carried in a wheelchair, then he walked with a cane. In this
way, God saved him from inevitable death.
On September 11, 2022, the Church of Evangelical Christian
Grace in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, was occupied by the
Russian military. Armed soldiers broke into the church right
during the service. They collected the passports of all those
present and announced the nationalization of the church
building. In addition, the church members were accused of ties
to the United States of America. At the beginning of 2023, the
church ceased its activities.
In January 2023, the Russian occupying Army took the house
of prayer from Transfiguration Baptist Church in the city of
Lysychansk, Luhansk region. They took out everything that was
of value to them, and later they settled several dozen Russian
soldiers there. Today those believers who remain in the
occupation are deprived of their building and the opportunity
to gather together. These are just some real examples of
religious persecution.
We are aware that the situation with religious oppression
in the occupied territories will change only when the Ukrainian
Army liberates those territories and return Ukrainian
jurisdiction there. We ask everyone involved to continue to
monitor the situation and carefully collect and document all
the facts of restrictions on religious freedom. All crimes must
be punished, and criminals must be brought before international
court. Justice and freedom demand our joint efforts and
protection. Thank you.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Dr. Bandura. We
now proceed by video with the Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila.
[Confers off mic.] Uh-huh, I think.
Staff: Sir, we going to see if we can get him on the phone.
They are still having some technical--let's ask for questions.
Let's go to questions now, and then once we--
Representative Wilson: Okay, and there are still some
technical difficulties, but we are going to proceed--such an
enterprising staff we have here.
As we begin, I want to thank Dr. Bandura for bringing this
to our attention, and I hope people will look this up. The
Institute of Religious Freedom--the website is irf.in.ua. The
email address is [email protected]. Again, the
website--people really need to go to this--irf.in.ua. This is
part of my 5 minutes--and that is that each of us, including
the Chairman, will be limited to 5 minutes in terms of
questions, and then--so this is part of my 5 minutes. I was so
impressed by this document.
Something also--how important it is that actually real
people are cited. It is not just a generic indication. Can you
imagine a manual that people--this is real, and so people in
the United States, around the world need to see the consequence
of the persecution of people of religious faith, and this
document is just so helpful and so positive.
I have always said that this particular conflict, this
could be unlike any ever, and that is that--I really picked
this up from a German newspaper, the Handelskrieg, and that is
it is a cellphone war. The incredible opportunity that the
people of Ukraine have, the people of the world, is that they
can document the atrocities that are occurring almost
immediately. They can also document the individuals committing
the atrocities, and then, with facial recognition, people will
be identified. Then in line with prosecution of war crimes,
they will be brought to justice, and then the chain of command
can be determined. The Russian troops that are being
sacrificed--from my perspective--by Putin and placed in this
situation, they should know that their conduct is going to be
monitored.
No war has ever been committed in such full view as what we
have today, so something can come out of--good out of this.
With questions--and Dr. Bandura, you get the opportunity to
answer all of them. So--
Staff: Sir, I was going to say we do have now the
Metropolitan via cellphone--to your point on cellphone wars.
Representative Wilson: Well, thank goodness for cellphones,
and so now you are going to--so Metropolitan, we are so honored
to have you with us.
Reverend Yevstratiy: Yes.
Representative Wilson: Thank you--
Reverend Yevstratiy: Can you hear me?
Representative Wilson: Yes, we can, and thank you. We look
forward to your testimony, and we are just grateful for your
service for the people of Ukraine.
Reverend Yevstratiy: Thank you. Thank you so much.
TESTIMONY OF MOST REVEREND YEVSTRATIY [ZORIA], METROPOLITAN OF
BILA TSERKVA
Honorable members of the U.S. Congress, and all
participants of this hearing, ladies and gentlemen, thank you
for allow me this opportunity to participate in this important
gathering.
In his address to you, the primate of our Orthodox Church
of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphaniy, outlined the main
challenges facing our country and the world as a result of
Kremlin aggression. I would like to focus on one of these in
more detail.
In both Ukraine and Russia, the majority of the population
profess Christianity and adherence to the Orthodox Church.
Formally, we recognize the same dogma. We have the same
liturgy. We recognize the same canon law. You probably are
aware that world orthodoxy exists as a family of local churches
and are independent of each other in matters of governance, but
remain united in matters of doctrine and practice of religion.
Traditionally the borders of the territories of local
churches coincide with the borders of the states formed by
their respective peoples, now or in the past. Therefore, also
we all consider ourselves a single church administratively.
There are independent churches of Greece and Romania, Bulgaria,
Georgia, Cyprus, and Serbia, Ukraine, and Russia, et cetera.
The Ukrainian and Russian Churches were formed and exist
under different historical conditions. From the beginning of
the creation of the Grand Duchy of Muscovy in 14th century, the
Russian Church exist as a State Institution historically. In
Ukraine, the Orthodox Church was a populist institution. The
problem pointed out by Metropolitan Epiphaniy namely is that
Moscow Patriarchate is a State Agency of the Kremlin for
religious matters and should be treated as such is not a new
problem. The Moscow Church was formed and, for centuries,
operated in this format.
For three centuries, Ukraine was subordinated to Russia.
Until the end of the last century, the imperial political
system of Russia used control over the Orthodox Church in
Ukraine as one of the main tools for dissolving Ukrainian
identity, imperial unification, and Russification of Ukraine.
Then, when Ukraine regained independence in 1991, a large
portion of the Orthodox believers and clergy severed
administrative ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, forming a
church independent from it.
As a root of this complex but inexorable moment, this
independent church received recognition from the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople. We are the Orthodox Church of
Ukraine.
At the same time, the structure of Russian Orthodox Church
continues to exist in Ukraine--and also it called itself
Ukrainian, and even made statements about its alleged
independence from Moscow--actually remains subordinate to the
Moscow Patriarchate. According to independent scientific
surveys, today 55 percent of the population of Ukraine
currently identify as members of our independent Orthodox
Church of Ukraine, and no more than 4 percent as members of the
Moscow Patriarchate. In the early years, especially during the
years of dominance of Pro-Russian political forces in the
Government of Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate was able to
concentrate under its control many temples and religious
buildings. Over three decades, Moscow has used these structures
to vigorously propagate the ideology of Russkiy Mir--Russian
world--which justifies Russian imperialism and military
aggression.
The Institute for the Study of War has shown in its
research that Moscow used the network of the Moscow
Patriarchate in Ukraine for a long time before the invasion to
prepare for a rapid offensive and to establish control during
the planned occupation. Moreover, some clergy and laypeople
carry out the Kremlin's plans without even realizing that they
are participating in that.
In the leadership structure of the Moscow Patriarchate in
Ukraine for the past two decades, Andriy Derkach, an agent of
the Russian special services officially recognized by the U.S.
Government, has played a significant shadow role. Vadim
Novinsky, a corruption politician and oligarch who holds the
rank of deacon of the Moscow Patriarchate, also has a decisive
influence on the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate in
Ukraine. These two individuals have, and to a large extent
continue to have, shadow control over the activities of the
Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. We believe that in the interest
of countering Russian hybrid aggression and in order to protect
freedom of religion, these individuals and those associated
with them should be subject to international sanctions.
One of the great gifts that the United States Constitution
has given the world is the idea that the state must guarantee
both free exercise and non-establishment equally for all
religion. This concept, which is reflected in Ukraine's modern
Constitution, requires that the state treat religious practices
with respect, but also means that religious bodies are subject
to the neutral and universal law of the land. The state cannot
allow any organization--secular or religious--to use its status
as a cover for criminal activity, especially activity aiding an
invading force during a time of war. The security and
protection of Ukraine from Russian hybrid aggression can place
a mutual legislative ban on administrative subordination of
Ukrainian religious organization to Russian centers. These
centers--not only the Russian Orthodox Church, but also main
religious centers of, for example, certain Muslim or Protestant
Christian groups--are under the control and influence of the
Kremlin and are used to support Russia's War in Ukraine.
This is not about interfering with any individual religious
practices in Ukraine, but exclusively about taking away from
Russia the tool of administrative control of religious bodies
in Ukraine. Essentially the same mechanism would be used as
those that recognize the legitimate free press by banning state
propaganda outlet--those which keep open the free markets while
banning actions which would undermine the nation's sovereignty.
At a meeting of Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious
Organizations with the head of our parliament, all the main
religious denominations of Ukraine--with the sole and obvious
exception of the Moscow Patriarchate--agreed with the need to
adopt such a law and express their readiness to participate in
its discussion in preparation for the final vote.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Congress,
Government, and all the people of United States for supporting
freedom of religion, and to testify that the Orthodox Church of
Ukraine is open to cooperation with all interested
institutions, including the Helsinki Commission.
Thank you, and may God bless you and protect all who today
fight for our freedom. Thank you so much.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Metropolitan,
and we now will proceed to questions. Each of the Members of
Congress who are here will have 5 minutes, including me, and I
lose the first minute because I have already used that up for
the beginning.
For both Dr. Bandura and Metropolitan, a question for each
of you, and that is there have been denunciation of Putin's war
by priests and religious institutions in Russia, and they have
been recently silenced, of course. Outside of Russia, do the
Orthodox priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, are they able
to speak freely or are they carefully monitored?
Reverend Yevstratiy: As I see and as I know, it is a great
problem that no one hierarch--no one bishop, archbishop or
metropolitan of Russian Orthodox Church, outside Russia--in
Europe, in America, or anywhere, raises their voice, against
Putin's agression.
I saw some examples of persecution from church leadership
of Moscow Patriarchate--those priests who raise their voice
against war. For example, it has happened in Lithuania, where a
group of Orthodox priests from patriarchy of Moscow
Patriarchate from the very beginning had the official statement
against Russian aggression, and very quickly the Metropolitan
of Moscow Patriarchate in Lithuania put them under repression,
banned for them to perform liturgies, and so on. Finally, for
more than half of the year, they were under canonical church
oppression. Then they were accepted as a clergy to Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople.
I know about one parish in Holland that transferred from
Moscow Patriarchate to Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople, Russian Community, for the same reason, that
they do not share official position of Moscow Patriarchate
supporting Putin's aggression. Generally, it is a pity to say
but Moscow Patriarchate unfortunately, in their leadership,
including hierarchs of Russian Orthodox Church in United States
and in Europe, they keep silent or try to justify in some way
Russia's political position.
Representative Wilson: Well, thank you, Metropolitan. That
is sad. Thank you for making that revelation.
Then, in lieu of a question, I would like to again refer
people to the Institute for Religious Freedom, the website
irf.in.ua. Email is [email protected]. The reason--I am hoping
that, again, using the cellphone technology, that the
destruction of different religious sites within Ukraine can be
documented and then provided to the world, because the looting
needs to be identified and recognized.
We now proceed in the most bipartisan of fashion to
Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver of Missouri.
STATEMENT OF EMMANUEL CLEAVER, U.S. HOUSE FROM MISSOURI
Representative Cleaver: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am struggling trying to understand more than on a surface
level how the Russians are using the church. Can you help me?
What is the theology that is being used? I mean, is there a
theology that the Russian people are fed, that Jesus was
Russian or--I mean, what--I am not sure I know how to ask the
question differently. There is something that is generally used
to capture people to one side, and particularly if it is the
evil side. I am trying to think of a synonym for evil. It is
hard for me to just accept that a large segment of the
population would just follow the Russian Orthodox Church unless
there is an appealing theology.
Representative Wilson: Metropolitan or Dr. Bandura, if you
would like to answer. Something you should be aware, and that
is that Congressman Cleaver is really speaking from the heart.
He himself is a Baptist minister.
Representative Cleaver: United Methodist.
Representative Wilson: He has the background of theological
interest and concern and devotion. Either one of you who would
like to answer.
Dr. Bandura: I will try to do so.
First, unfortunately, as I told in my statement and as
Metropolitan Yevstratiy told in his video message, we must
divide in our consideration our attitude to Russian Orthodox
Church as a community of believers and clergy, historical
community of Christians in Russia, with huge amount of examples
of sanctity, of dedication to Christianity and so on, and
ruling structure, Moscow Patriarchate, as Kremlin's agency for
religious affairs and control over Russian Orthodox Church and
Orthodox activity. Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev himself and his
entourage, they just use religious language. They just use
gospel, names of Lord Jesus, and faith to justify current
Kremlin policy.
It reminds me of the time of Soviet Union, when Moscow
Patriarchate was totally controlled by Soviet Government. You
know that officially this patriarchate told, especially outside
Soviet Union, that they had no persecution, they had no
interference in the religious matter from Soviet Government,
and so on. In reality, it was not true.
Now we can see the same. Russian Orthodox Church, as a
community of believers--I would like to use this term--they are
in captivity by government. They are controlled by government.
From inside of this church, especially from Russia, it is not
possible to have independent voice, with the exception of very
few people who are so brave to criticize this position of
Kirill Gundyaev and the official leadership of Moscow
Patriarchate.
Unfortunately, they just use their position as Christian
leaders, as the official representative of the church, to
justify Kremlin policy. In reality, Kirill Gundyaev, other top
hierarchs, are just some--comparable with other Russian top
officials. Like Sergey Lavrov, who is the chief of Russian
diplomacy, or Shoigu, who is the chief of Russian Army, Kirill
Gundyaev is official of Kremlin administration for religious
affairs. I think it is not possible to find in his position
something which is really related with Christianity, Orthodoxy,
Gospel, and to Jesus' teaching.
Thank you.
Representative Wilson: Mr. Bandura, thank you very much.
Representative Cleaver: I spent time in Turkey. On
Thursdays the Government, Erdogan, they would send out the
message to all the Mosques for Friday, for the service. They
controlled the theology. I mean, the Nazis--they slayeth our
Lord. You know, we need to get rid of them. They slayeth our
Lord. I mean, there is always something; you know, the
Crusaders, 12 million people slaughtered in the name of serving
the Lord.
There is something. I apologize if I cannot connect it
right now. Please.
Reverend Yevstratiy: There is theology behind that, but
unfortunately bad theology.
Representative Cleaver: Yes.
Reverend Yevstratiy: It is not only theology, but a mixture
of theology, nationalism, and imperial spirit.
Representative Cleaver: Okay.
Reverend Yevstratiy: There is a concept of the Third Rome.
Moscow is the Third Rome. There was one Rome, and the second
one and the third one. The prophecy was this is the last one.
According to this idea, Russia is the last blessing, messianic
blessing, for the rest of the world. The West is morally
corrupted. The West is liberal. The West neglected biblical
conservative values. Russia is the last defender of traditional
values, and Russia is the messianic power to rescue the rest of
the world and bring the pure gospel back to the world.
This is something bigger than--it is a mixture of different
ideas. This is behind all of that. This is why, under these
beliefs, it is easy for Russian, both statesmen and religious
leaders, to say that it is not the war but it is a special
military operation. What difference it makes? What for them is
difference: If it is special military operation, then you can
kill Russians--Ukrainians.
If you believe that the simplest confession of faith of all
Christians is very short--Jesus is lord--but it seems like in
Russia it is State is lord. Now everybody should pay legacy to
the State, and then the State is the main one. The State
dictate to the Church what to do. All this theology is behind
that. There is theology, but it is bad theology. In fact, as
many Orthodox Churches already stated, it is a modern heresy.
The ideology of Russian war is a modern heresy, and it was
already condemned by several largest Orthodox Church in the
world.
Representative Cleaver: I appreciate that. Theology is
stinkin' thinkin'. Thank you.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Congressman
Cleaver.
We now proceed to Congressman Mike Lawler. We can recognize
that he was bright enough to marry a member of the Orthodox
Church. Congressman Lawler, all the way from New York.
STATEMENT OF MIKE LAWLER, U.S. HOUSE FROM NEW YORK
Representative Lawler: Thank you, Chairman. My wife is from
Moldova. She is Christian Orthodox. I have been there. I have
been in the Orthodox Churches in Moldova.
As religious leaders, what message do you have for those
using religion to justify violence? I think all of us here
certainly are of the belief that, you know, frankly, that is
the opposite of what religion is supposed to be doing. Religion
is about unifying, bringing people together in faith and, you
know, forging ahead to a more peaceful future. What would you
say, as religious leaders, to those in Moscow or elsewhere that
are using religion as a vehicle to promote violence and hatred
and destruction across the world?
Representative Wilson: Metropolitan can proceed first, and
then we will go to Dr. Bandura.
Reverend Yevstratiy: Thank you for your question. I think
that in your question it is possible to hear the answer,
because evil has no justification. Evil itself lie itself. It
has no justification. From very beginning we try to call
religious leaders in Russia open their eyes, open their ears,
open their mind, to understand that Russian aggression and
justification of Russian aggression, it is not just against
Ukraine or against Europe or global West or United States. It
is against Russia itself, because sooner or later Putin's
regime will fall down. Russian nation and Russian religious
leaders will bear this responsibility for a decay.
It reminds me of the phenomena of so-called German
Christians, Protestants and Catholics, who supported the Nazi
regime. After World War II, Christian Churches in Germany goes
through the process of repentance and recognizes that they
behaved indeed wrong against gospel and Jesus' teaching. Now we
see the same process, and lessons of history from that time
must remind these leaders that, sooner or later, truth will
prevail. Everybody who tries to justify evil will be
responsible and must bear this responsibility in front of
mankind, and indeed in front of God himself.
Thank you.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Metropolitan.
We now proceed to Dr. Bandura.
Dr. Bandura: I think the message of all religious leaders
should be very clear. There is no justification of aggression
on religious basis in the Bible, in the Quran, in the Torah.
This would be very--this should be stated and repeated
constantly and very clear. Everything else is misinterpretation
and misrepresentation of religious view.
I may mention that well-respected Rabbi, Chief Rabbi of
United Kingdom, who passed away 2 years ago, Jonathan Sacks, he
is very clear on that. He gives many testimonies, just speaking
from--speaking about three religions that, basically, are
descendants of Abraham. That is Christian, Jewish people, and
Muslim people. He--in his book, he gives many examples from the
first book of the Bible, sharing the examples how descendants
of Abraham and then Isaac and Jacob, even despite they were,
like, two different lives, they were looking for peaceful
coexistence. He give good lessons for us, more than religious
leaders, how we can build relationship and trust, even with
those who do not believe in God as we do.
Ukrainians are very good example of religious peace and
understanding, because their council of churches and religious
organizations consists with all Christian Churches--Orthodox,
Catholic, Greek Catholics, Evangelicals. It also includes
Jewish Community in Ukraine and Muslim Community in Ukraine.
Even in his document I cited in my presentation was unanimously
accepted by all these people. We worked in the agreement.
We have very respectful relationship between leaders. We
have a tested history of 25 years of working together on the
issue and matters that are important for our people. This is an
example when we speak in the one voice against the war, against
the aggression. I believe this is the best way to represent
religious truth about war and war crime and religious
oppression in our time.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Dr. Bandura.
We now proceed to Congressman Marc Veasey of Texas.
STATEMENT OF MARC VEASEY, U.S. HOUSE FROM TEXAS
Representative Veasey: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much
and appreciate this hearing because I think this is really
important.
We have seen in the past conflicts around the world where
religion, religious symbols, those things have been, you know,
used against people, you know, sometimes for psychological
warfare reasons but, certainly, they have been used against
people and countries, you know, for some sort of a gain.
I was just, you know, wondering, you know, how has Russia's
physical destruction of churches and places of religious
significance affected the people of Ukraine?
Dr. Bandura: In this document that I shared, you can--you
can find it. You can pay attention that 494 Church buildings
and holy places have been either destroyed or severely damaged.
Representative Veasey: How many of those are--and I am not
sure if they keep things like historical records or historical
markers in Ukraine but how many of those would be considered of
historical significance?
Dr. Bandura: I would say at least one-third of these
buildings.
Representative Veasey: Yes. Wow.
Dr. Bandura: What is a matter of fact, if you look this--to
the bottom of the page you will find out that the biggest
number of churches destroyed belongs to Moscow Patriarchate.
You know, so it is a tragedy because they are standing for the
war and they destroyed the churches that belong to their fellow
Christians, that belong to their church, and it is a tragedy so
we should stop that.
Representative Veasey: Yes. Yes. What about--you know,
because there is a commonality, you know, throughout the entire
region, you know, whether it is Moldova, Romania, you know, I
think that I was reading one of the testimonies that said that,
you know, there is even a common, like, liturgy, you know, that
is shared.
Do you--or do you think that long term this is going to
cause a split to where, you know, that sort of commonality is
shared will no longer take place anymore, that all of these
different countries will sort of form, you know, their own, you
know, offshoots or maybe even new religions that sort of look
very similar to the ROC but may not exactly, you know, be like
they look today?
Dr. Bandura: From our perspective of leaders of Evangelical
Protestant Churches, as a matter of fact, is the relationship
between State and Church. Like, in Ukraine we do not have State
Church. All the churches are equal and because of this we have
peaceful relationship and we can work together.
Like, in Moldova you have democracy and you have separation
of Church and State. You do not have much of the problems. In
Russia what we understand the church is connected with the
State and, in fact, the church became like a Department of
State and here you hear all the differences and here you hear
all the problems and divisions. I think Orthodox people can
speak on their experience.
From our side, as long as you have this unity between
Church--Orthodox Church and State you will have problems and
such State as Russia would always use religion and Orthodox
Church in their own causes against its neighbors because we
should realize it is not about, like, two countries, one Muslim
and the other is Christian. We are talking about two Christian
countries. We are talking about majority of people in Ukraine
and in Russia believe they are Orthodox people. Why are they
fighting?
Representative Veasey: Right.
Dr. Bandura: Why are Russian Orthodox patriarch preached
something like we called Orthodox Jihad when he said if you go
to fight against Ukraine and you will die at the front line you
would go right to paradise. It is not--it is not Christian
theology. There was nothing like that even in Orthodox Church.
This is the consequences of church being a part of the State
politics and State propaganda.
Representative Veasey: Yes. Wow. That is amazing. Okay.
Thank you very much. I yield back.
Representative Wilson: Thank you, Dr. Bandura, and
Metropolitan, would you like to comment?
Reverend Yevstratiy: Yes. I would like to add that it is
not split between churches, Russian Orthodox Church and
Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I told in my statement that we both
are local, independent, in our governance--in our
administrative matters of churches but we are the same family,
the same Orthodox Church.
It is a split between church and something which try to
control church life and which pretend to represent church voice
and to be a representative of church public faith. It is a real
split because Moscow Patriarchate and leadership of Moscow
Patriarchate and Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev himself, he pretends
to be a religious leader, pretends to be a patriarch. In
reality, as a top official, personally very rich man, a real
oligarch, and one of the top propagandists of Kremlin, he and
his collaborators, they just use their position in the church
to spread Kremlin aggressive ideology, which have no real
ground in Orthodox Christianity, Jesus' teachings, et cetera.
This is a split not between churches but it is split
between truth and lie, light and darkness, good and evil, and
this split must be because we know from gospel that Jesus told
that he brings a sword to this world, the sword of truth which
divide, create a wall, a border, between truth and untruth,
good and evil. Thank you.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Metropolitan.
Now we proceed with the extraordinary insight of
Congresswoman Victoria Spartz.
STATEMENT OF VICTORIA SPARTZ, U.S. HOUSE FROM INDIANA
Representative Spartz: [Off mic] --I was baptized secretly
when I was little, I have a very good understanding of what is
happening.
I have a question for you as, you know, I would say Russia
is involved in ethnic cleansing and oppression of minorities
for a long time. What is happening in this war, a lot of, you
know, minorities are sent to die in large numbers and a lot of
them are not Christians. Have you heard from any, you know,
Buddhist or Muslim leaders? Have any actually commented on
any--sort of what is happening right now and oppressions that
has happened within Russia of a lot of minorities dying in
large numbers? Any of them express any concerns with that and
oppression?
Dr. Bandura: Yes. I do not know about Buddhists because
this is probably a minority of minorities. Muslim community is
mainly located in Crimea, and since 2014 they are under great
pressure and usually when--
Representative Spartz: I am talking about the war. Right
now a lot of republics within Russia are not Christians.
Dr. Bandura: Okay.
Representative Spartz: A lot of them, you know, Russians
that are fighting and dying in large numbers, they are from
regions of Russia. Siberians have been oppressed by Moscow for
a while, so--and using oppression of religion on a lot of those
minorities. Russia had wars on that, Chechnya as an example.
There are a lot of others that are not Christians. Have you
heard from any leaders around the world raising concern that
there is oppression of religious freedom within Russia and what
is happening right now?
Dr. Bandura: Yes. Not as many as we would like but, for
example, when we have had the Ukrainian week here in Washington
just recently, before that it was 3 days a conference or summit
for religious persecution and I was present there, and many
worldwide leaders, both political and religious, are standing
and speaking boldly and openly about the situation in Russia.
I think we should speak more about that. It depends how
you--how people value their religious freedom because for some
it is nothing. If you have working economy, if you have a
strong army, religious freedom is not an issue. For us, we
understand it is one of the basics.
Representative Spartz: I understand. I understand. I do not
know--I do not know, Metropolitan, was if you have heard from
other leaders around the world raising this concern.
Representative Wilson: So, Metropolitan--
Representative Spartz: Specifically religious leaders--
Muslim religious leaders, Buddhist religious--and oppressions
that happened in the freedom of religion within Russia with
minorities. It just--if not, it is no. [Off mic]-- my question.
Reverend Yevstratiy: I have no clear answer for your
question because, you know, for a decade Russian Government and
Official Representatives of Russian religious institutions,
established institutions including Muslim institutions,
Buddhist institutions, they had a lot of contact with different
religious centers in communities around the globe. They use
their influence in different religious communities to justify
Kremlin policy and even religious matters in religious affairs
including religious affairs.
It reminds me of times of Soviet Union that in reality
everybody outside Soviet Union knows that persecutions exist
and churches--church of majority and church minorities are
persecuted. Officially all religious centers in Soviet Union
told that they do not know about any persecution. Everything is
accord in law, et cetera, and it is a problem because in
reality in Russia is no freedom of religion.
You know, the so-called Yarovaya law that limited every
aspect of church and religious lives. Even officially
registered communities have huge limits in their activity and
must have permission for any kind of specific activity like
teaching for--teaching children religion or preaching publicly
religion, et cetera. It is a problem that until now Russia
treated more or less not like dictatorship and tyranny without
real freedom, including freedom of religion. Until now Russia
treated like State equal with other reasonable state.
In reality, Russia's religious--like, you know, example of
Jehovah Witnesses, which they are totally banned. I would like
to raise the example of one of a Jewish community in Russia
which faced the expelling of their leader, their Chief Rabbi,
because this chief rabbi did not want to publicly support
Kremlin's policy.
He just keeps silent but Russian administration forced him
to publicly support so-called special military operation and
then because he did not publicly support the Kremlin's policy
he was expelled from his position of Chief Rabbi and even
forced to leave Russia. Now he lives in Israel. I think after
collapse of Putin regime we will find a huge amount of
evidences like we know now a huge amount of evidences from
Soviet time of persecution of leaders of religious
denominations, including minorities, in Russia.
Now I think it is a--it is a very important matter to keep
an eye--keep the--and watch over this situation inside Russia
with religious freedom for all, including minorities. Thank
you.
Representative Spartz: Thank you. My time has expired.
Reverend Yevstratiy: Thank you.
Representative Spartz: I appreciate your comment. I know
that, to your comment, Russian disinformation and propaganda
does work here and in Europe, too, unfortunately, and we do
some stupid things. I would like maybe was to comment not
already here but to the team related to the proposed
legislation dealing with religious institutions connected on
Russia under Ukrainian law. I know that my time is expired, but
maybe you can share your thoughts later directly with the
staff. I would appreciate that.
Yield back.
Representative Wilson: Thank you very much, Congresswoman
Spartz.
We now proceed to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of
Texas.
STATEMENT OF SHEILA JACKSON LEE, U.S. HOUSE FROM TEXAS
Representative Jackson Lee: Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. To the witnesses, thank you. We are--many of us
diverse religions in this country but we are certainly aware of
the higher power of religion and how religion can be the source
of inspiration, the source of freedom.
It can also be used as the despot Putin to intimidate, to
murder and kill, and to deny people their precious rights of
religious freedom. This war is horrific. The voice of the
church needs to be heard and it is sad for me to hear that the
Putin regime has directly taken over the Ukraine Orthodox
Church. They are pushing out the venom of the right or
righteousness of the war, the war that Russia has against
Ukraine.
I want to see the faith community in the United States be
as helpful as they possibly can and I would be eager to hear of
your thoughts about the overall faith community here, and as
well have you heard of the dastardly--the bad behavior of
Russia in stealing Ukrainian children? That, certainly, should
go against the faithful, the people of faith. I would be
interested in your thoughts about that.
I just want to take a scripture-based story that reminds us
of what should happen here. When Jesus went into the temple and
people were doing things that were inappropriate, they were
doing wrong things, he proceeded to send them out of the
temple, send them out because they were wrong and they were, in
essence, creating an atmosphere of almost crime against
religious beliefs.
Two things, if I can--what the faith community has been
doing, what do we need to do, and what the faith community can
do about the stealing of Ukrainian children. That seems to be
something they should be concerned about.
Dr. Bandura: It is a huge tragedy because the number of
children forcefully sent to Russia and we do not know about
their destiny. We do not know how many children have been
adopted to Russian families and how many would be--how we would
be able to bring them back.
The matter was raised and you know that Russian President
Putin and the chairman of this committee that is in charge for
this, or ombudsman--children ombudsman in Russia are under
criminal persecution now just because of this crime, stealing
children. The number is terrific and all the children were
brought to Russia under the idea to bring them to safe
territories, which is terrible.
You know, you come to destroy somebody's life and then you
save their children from whom? From yourself. The work is going
on and I think international pressure is very important, and we
hope that Ukraine would be able to bring back most of these
children.
I would raise another concern. Not only the children that
was literally stolen from Ukraine and sent to Russia, I would
also raise a concern about family divided because 8 millions of
people left Ukraine and spread all around European countries
and the United States, and most of them are women with children
and now children are growing without fathers. Children are
under stress of being in new circumstances, schools where they
do not understand the language, and it is just a terrible,
terrible experience.
So it is not only about children stolen. It is also
children in divided families and it is also growing children
that became orphans because their fathers were killed in the
war. These three groups of children are our great concern and
we need to--international community to keep this, to speak
about this, to pressure Russia to change the situation for
better.
Representative Wilson: Thank you, Dr. Bandura.
Representative Jackson Lee: May I quickly just add one
quick word?
Representative Wilson: Well, hey, even better. I want the
Metropolitan to also answer--
Representative Jackson Lee: That is--
Representative Wilson: --The very heartfelt question by
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Representative Jackson Lee: I thank you, Mr. Chairman. That
was what I was going to--can I add to Metropolitan to ask--
excuse me, to tell me about the murder of religious leaders--
the extent of murder of religious leaders. If I could hear
about that I would appreciate it. If the Metropolitan could
answer that. Thank you. I yield.
Reverend Yevstratiy: Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
It is so important question because, first of all, I would like
to add to answer of Dr. Bandura that forced replacement of
children from Ukrainian territory to Russia is an act of
genocide--
Representative Jackson Lee: Yes.
Reverend Yevstratiy: --One of the many example of genocide
because such behavior, such action, is clearly indicated in
international law as one of acts of genocide.
Concerning the killing or persecution of religious leaders,
now we know about 15 persons affiliated with our church--
priests and other church persons from our church--who have been
killed by Russians during the great-scale aggression. I know
that in other religious communities they have those who been
killed by Russians' aggression.
The main issue is that it is not just incidents. It is not
just part of war action but it is part of general line of
Russian behavior on occupied territories because it is designed
from the very beginning, even before full-scale aggression,
that when Russian troops went to particular settlement, city or
town or village, the Russian security services immediately
start to find who is leaders of local community, political
leaders like local mayor, business leaders like owner of main
business in this town, and religious leaders.
We know--I know from my personal experience because local
priest of our church in Bucha near Kyiv, very known city,
unfortunately, because the act of genocide, Father Andriy, who
is a rector of St. Andrew's Church in Bucha he left the city on
March 3rd, last year just a few days after the occupation of
Bucha and next day when he was leaving his home somebody from
Russian side tried to find him and asked his neighbors where is
this priest.
I know from other priests from occupied territories of
Kherson and other places that immediately Russians try to find,
kidnap, and force these church leaders to be collaborators.
They try to scare them, that--one priest told that--Russians
told him, if you do not be with us we will rape your wife, we
will kill your children, and then we will kill you.
This is one option. Another option you must sign agreement
of cooperation, and this is not a accident but it is a general
design to create atmosphere of fear. If such a respectable
person in local community are not protected from Russian
attacks, from Russian persecution, you--local inhabitants--have
no real protection from new authorities. You must be loyal
because if you will not be loyal you will face with very bad
consequences, and it is a main problem.
I would like to underline repeatedly that it is not a fault
of particular soldiers or somebody else but it is part of
general design of occupation of Ukraine to find the local
leaders and force them to be collaborators or persecute them,
beat them, kidnap, imprison them, and even killed. Thank you.
Representative Wilson: Thank you. Metropolitan, thank you
so much and I want to thank the Congresswoman for being here.
Actually, both Congresswomen. How fortunate we are.
As I conclude, again, I want to refer people to the
Institute for Religious Freedom. The website is irf.in.ua, and
people need to look this up. It is so revealing and so well
done. With this, I would like to thank everybody for their
participation and the extraordinary staff of the Helsinki
Commission.
With this we are adjourned. [Sounds gavel.]
[Whereupon, at 2:50 p.m., the hearing ended.]
?
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Additional Submissions for the Record
=======================================================================
Additional Submission for the Record
______
OPENING STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN JOE WILSON
The Commission will come to order. Good afternoon to all who have
joined us today. Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge [other
members present].
I would also like to enter two articles into the record that speak
to the topic of this hearing: ``Clergymen or Spies? Churches Become
Tools of War in Ukraine'' from the New York Times, and a TIME article
from nearly a year ago called ``How the Russian Orthodox Church is
Helping Drive Putin's War in Ukraine''--which shows that this is not a
new topic, but current events and the arrests of Moscow-linked priests
have brought things into much clearer focus, which we will hear about
today.
The Helsinki Commission has long championed the need to protect
freedom of religion and belief. Although Ukraine is a State of diverse
religions, today's hearing will focus on the largest religious group in
Ukraine: Christians.
We cannot talk about Christians in Ukraine without discussing war
criminal Putin's full-scale war. The war has made life dangerous for
many Christians in occupied areas of Ukraine who not only have to worry
about their physical safety, but the protection of other freedoms,
including the right to believe and worship according to one's
conscience. Occupation authorities have used various tactics to deny
believers the right to practice their faith, including by de facto
banning religious groups not approved by Russian-led occupation
governments and destroying religious materials. The main targets are
Christians not affiliated with the Moscow controlled Ukrainian Orthodox
Church, an arm of the Russian Orthodox Church, and any other
``nontraditional'' religions or beliefs--that is, religions that cannot
be controlled by the Kremlin.
Putin is also creating an additional challenge for the Ukrainian
Government. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, technically under Moscow's
control, though the level of loyalty may vary--and the Orthodox Church
of Ukraine, which officially split off from the former, are fighting
for the future of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. The Kremlin has used Orthodox
priests reporting to Moscow to engage in criminal activities against
Ukraine and on behalf of Russia, including full-blown wartime
collaboration, even storing weapons. Ukrainian authorities have sadly
found evidence of this.
Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has
bizarrely contrived Putin's war, resulting in the mass murder of
Ukrainian men, women, and children, as ``An Apocalyptic Battle Against
Evil.''
Human rights experts have witnessed targeting of pastors and
churches by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, particularly of
evangelical Christians. Sacred sites have been destroyed and looted by
the hundreds. This is not surprising. Putin imposes widespread
restrictions on Christians sharing their faith in Russia.
Finally, given that our witnesses are all clergy themselves, I hope
we will be able to discuss what religious communities around the world
are doing to support Ukrainians, and the role of Christians in Ukraine
during wartime.
Our esteemed witnesses today are well-qualified to speak to the
diversity of Ukrainian Christianity:
First, we will hear a video message from Kyiv by His
Beatitude Epiphaniy Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the leader of
the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. We thank His Beatitude in particular
for his time and his recognition of the importance of this discussion
for Ukraine.
Next, speaking on behalf of the Orthodox Church of
Ukraine and coming to us from Ukraine via video is The Most Reverend
Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva.
Joining us here in Washington is Rev. Dr. Igor Bandura
Vice President of International Affairs for the Baptist Union of
Ukraine.
Unfortunately, we learned this morning that The Most
Reverend Borys Gudziak Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy
of Philadelphia and President of Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv
will not be able to join us due to unforeseen circumstances. I
encourage you to read his excellent testimony, which is in the briefing
materials.
With this, I will turn to [Commissioners present] for any
opening remarks, after which we will hear from Metropolitan Epiphaniy.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BEN CARDIN, CO-CHAIRMAN, U.S. HOUSE FROM
MARYLAND
Thank you, Chairman Wilson, for convening this hearing of the
Helsinki Commission to look further into how Russia's genocidal war on
Ukraine has brought intensified religious discrimination and a new
dimension to its political influence network. As early as 2014, we saw
Russia's suppression and de facto criminalization of largely Muslim
Crimean Tatars after Russia illegally occupied the peninsula. This was
only the beginning of Russia's threats to specific ethnic and religious
groups. We should not be surprised that as Russia occupied more of
Ukraine's territory, even more atrocities would follow. Our witnesses
today, who represent three major Christian groups targeted simply for
their spiritual and organizational independence from Moscow, know well
the extent of this repression and how it has worsened since February
24, 2022.
Additionally, there has been a great deal of Russian disinformation
surrounding the current conflict between the two Orthodox Churches in
Ukraine. No world leader should be viewed entirely uncritically, and
there are legitimate questions about how President Zelensky should
handle Russia's nefarious influence in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Finding the right balance between pushing back against Russia's
political manipulation of some clergy, and permitting religious
communities and their leaders to choose their own course, is not easy.
Russian propaganda is using the clash between churches as a tool to
slander and discredit Ukraine's democratically elected government, as
well as try to besmirch many other Ukrainians. I hope that our
witnesses will bring some much-needed clarity and nuance to this
discussion.
Ultimately, the only way to protect Ukraine's Christians, religious
and ethnic minorities, and all Ukrainians living under foreign
occupation is to give Ukraine what it needs to expel Russian troops and
restore Ukraine's sovereignty over its internationally recognized 1991
borders. At the same time, we continue to encourage Ukraine to protect
religious freedom as is consistent with international norms and OSCE
commitments. Ukraine faces very real internal threats from Russia, but
it is Ukraine's commitment to strengthening human rights which makes
them so different from their neighbor and is necessary to uphold. We
stand ready to support them in any way we can. Thank you to our
witnesses for sharing your firsthand experiences of the current
challenges to religious liberty in Ukraine.
TESTIMONY OF HIS BEATITUDE EPIPHANIY, METROPOLITAN OF KYIV AND ALL OF
UKRAINE
Honorable members of the U.S. Congress, Distinguished Guests,
I deeply regret that for reasons beyond my control I am unable to
join this important event dedicated to the protection of freedom of
religion--one of the fundamental freedoms--in person. Ukrainians are
proud that from the very begging of the restoration of Ukraine's
independence, our State has been and remains committed to freedom of
religion. This has made it possible, after years of Soviet repression
and State atheism, to revive religious life in its diversity, and to
create effective mechanisms of interreligious and interconfessional
cooperation, such as the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and
Religious Organizations.
In its hybrid war against Ukraine, Russia has unleashed new types
of threat to religious freedom, including the Kremlin's use of a
Pseudo-Christian ideology to justify aggression, and the coopting of
all large religious bodies in Russia, most significantly the Moscow
Patriarchate, as tools of propaganda and influence. In Russia itself,
there is no real freedom of religion--both at the level of laws that
severely limit the activities of religious organizations and put them
under government control, and even more so at the level of practice.
The situation is even worse in the territories of Ukraine occupied
by Russia, where all Ukrainian religious organizations that are not
loyal to the occupation authorities are persecuted. Our priests are
kidnapped and harassed, forced to join the Russian Orthodox Church and
cooperate with the occupiers. The property of religious communities is
seized and used as desired by the occupiers. Ukrainian citizens are
forcibly compelled to accept Russian passports and treated as citizens
of Russia. Without a Russian passport, residents of the occupied
territories become effectively illegal. The structures of the Russian
Orthodox Church in the occupied territories are actually one of the
instruments of influence and control.
Metropolitan Yevstratiy will in his address illustrate a number of
specific threats, but in closing my remarks, I want to draw attention
to one key threat: The Russian Orthodox Church and its governing
structure, the Moscow Patriarchate headed by Kirill Gundyev, do not
just cooperate with the Kremlin--they themselves have become part of
the Russian State apparatus. The Moscow Patriarchate is not like a
traditional religious body. In reality, it is a Russian Government
agency that performs the functions of managing and controlling
religious life, not only in Russia, but also everywhere the Russian
Church has spread.
Professing conservative values through this patriarchy, the Kremlin
seeks to recruit a range of religious bodies as partners or allies,
particularly in America. In essence, the Moscow Patriarchate is in the
religious dimension what the network ``RT''--Russia Today''--is in the
information space: An instrument of propaganda and hybrid aggression.
Ukraine and the entire free world must respond to this challenge of
religious institutions that have been transformed into instruments of
aggression and war. I hope that appropriate proposals for the U.S.
Congress will be the fruit of these hearings. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank the Congress, Government, and people of the United
States of America for supporting Ukraine and our people in the struggle
for freedom against tyranny.
May God guide you in your deliberations, and may God bless us all.
TESTIMONY OF REVEREND DR. IGOR BANDURA, VICE PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL
AFFAIRS FOR THE BAPTIST UNION OF UKRAINE
Dear Chairman, dear members of the committee, dear attendees!
I have the honor to testify before you today, representing the
Evangelical-Protestant Churches of Ukraine. Today, I speak on behalf of
more than 6,000 churches, the largest group of Evangelical churches in
Europe. As the minister of Baptist churches, I want to point out that
the experience of religious oppression and persecution during the
Russian war against Ukraine is common to all Evangelical-Protestant
churches.
In the last document that was published on April 11, 2023 after the
meeting of the Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine, Ruslan
Stefanchuk, with the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious
Organizations [UCCRO] on the issues of Church-State relations in the
context of the Russian war against Ukraine, it was noted:
Ukraine is known in the world for its high level of religious
freedom, religious pluralism, the absence of a ``State church,'' the
equality of all religious organizations before the law, developed
inter-religious dialog and cooperation between different churches.
During the war, caused by Russian unjustified aggression, a high level
of freedom of religion is maintained in Ukraine, there are no religious
persecutions, and democratic institutions and procedures continue to
operate.
The only places where the problems with religious freedom have
occurred are the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia in 2014 and
then since the beginning of the massive aggression started on February
24, 2022.
The situation also looks depressing, since almost all the leaders
of main religious denominations in Russia directly or indirectly
supported Russia's War against Ukraine and thereby agreed to the
suffering of their fellow believers in Ukraine. The concept of
religious freedom for all turned out to be not only unacceptable and
foreign for the Russian Government, which brought destruction and
actually invited slavery to Ukrainians, but also alien to the main
religious denominations of Russia, which themselves suffer from the
restriction of religious freedom by the State.
THE SITUATION SINCE 2014
Evangelical-Protestant Churches in the occupied Crimea found
themselves in a situation of religious restrictions during the period
of the late Soviet Union. All life and activity is localized
exclusively in church premises. As one minister testified: ``They Beat
Us, But They Do Not Even Let Us Cry!''. This emotional assessment
reflects the general situation at the current moment.
On the territory of the occupied Luhansk region, Baptist Churches,
together with Jehovah's Witnesses, were recognized as terrorist
organizations with all the corresponding consequences. All churches
have lost their State registration and to this day are in an uncertain
status and full restriction of religious rights.
Churches in the occupied territory of Donetsk region are in a
slightly easier situation, but they also do not have legal status and
are completely limited in their activities.
A sufficient number of testimonies and materials have been
collected since 2014 and transferred to various international human
rights organizations. I had the honor of being part of the Ukrainian
delegation in 2014 and participating in similar hearings in the US
Congress on the situation with religious restrictions in the
territories occupied by Russia. Since then, the situation has only
worsened.
THE SITUATION SINCE FEBRUARY 24, 2022
THE DESTRUCTION OF CHURCH BUILDINGS
Since the beginning of the war, 172 church buildings have been
significantly damaged or completely destroyed. Among them:
Pentecostals--75; Baptists--51; Adventists--24; others--22.
The buildings of 3 seminaries were bombed and looted. Among them:
Baptists--2 educational institutions in Kherson and Irpin;
Pentecostals--one educational institution in Kyiv.
Tavriski Christian Institute [TCI]. Ukrainian Evangelicals have
been experiencing various forms of persecution from Russian occupants
during the occupation of the Kherson region. This is an example of the
religious persecutions initiated by the Russian Army at the property of
Tavriski Christian Institute [TCI], an Evangelical seminary in Kherson,
which was occupied on March 11, 2022, and liberated 8 months after.
TCI's seminary in Kherson was a key Evangelical School in the south of
Ukraine. However, it was occupied by the Russian Army and turned into a
military base and hospital. Since then, the campus has been robbed, and
all valuables were stolen. Five campus buildings were completely
ruined, and Christian literature in English and Ukrainian translations
was burnt or sent to a dump, as Russians considered propaganda
literature. Furthermore, Christian paintings were destroyed or stolen.
Russian soldiers also threatened local Christians, including TCI's
staff, by saying that they deserve to be eliminated or dug into the
ground. This kind of threat is not only terrifying but also excludes
any church from a right to exist except for the Russian Orthodox
Church.
The occupation of TCI's seminary has had a significant emotional
impact on its staff and the local Christian community, which cannot be
underestimated as it affects the well-being of the local Christian
community. Besides, it will have a long-lasting negative impact on the
development of Evangelical Churches and education in the region. It is
essential to ensure that the Ukrainian Evangelical Community in Kherson
Region can restore its churches and seminaries and that local believers
can get back to worship and education.
CHURCHES THAT CEASED TO EXIST IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
230 churches that belong to the Baptist Union ceased to exist in
the occupied territories. Most of the church members and pastors had to
leave saving their lives. These people lost not only their churches,
but also their homes, their usual life. Most families are separated.
People are scattered all over the country. Thousands were forced to
evacuate to Russia. Many are still there and some found the way out of
Russia and together with millions of other became refugees in European
Countries and even in the USA. The ideology of ``Russian World''
carried by the occupying Russian Army does not tolerate either freedom
or freedom of religion. All churches that are not Orthodox of the
Moscow Patriarchate must disappear. We are talking about the
existential threat for evangelical believers.
Occupied Vasilivka. On June 12, 2022, armed Russian occupiers came
to the local church in the city of Vasylivka [Zaporizhia region], drove
everyone out of the house of prayer, conducted a search, then sealed
the building, took the keys and said that totalitarian sects have no
place in ``Liberated Vasylivka''. The pastor of the church, Mykola
Zholovan, was placed under house arrest, having previously confiscated
computer disks with all available information. Then, at the end of
June, the pastor was arrested and held in the so-called ``Military
Commandant's Office'' for almost 2 days. In the end, the pastor was
released, but the premises of the house of prayer were never returned.
Numerous attempts to return it [by the way, the building is a
historical monument] were unsuccessful. The church building has not yet
been returned to the church.
ABUSE, KIDNAPPING AND TORTURE OF PASTORS AND ACTIVE CHURCH MEMBERS
Many cases cannot be documented because the number of victims were
not ready to give public testimony about the horrors they experienced.
Among the main reasons are shame and danger for themselves or their
relatives who remained in the occupied territories or were forcibly
deported to Russia.
Oleg Bondarenko, Pentecostal Pastor, is a minister of the Christian
Rehabilitation Center attached to the Pentecostal Church in the village
of Motyzhyn [Kyiv region]. At the beginning of the invasion, the
Russians captured this center because they decided that there was a
Ukrainian Military base there. They said the drug rehab center was a
cover. Oleg was arrested and spent 3 days in prison. He himself was
tortured and also heard the screams of civilians being killed by the
Russians. ``They tied me to the railing, they started practicing blows.
Then I was tied to a quad bike and dragged to the base, where they
tortured people.'' Oleg was in a well without water for 2 days. When
the Ukrainian Military counterattacked, Oleg prayed that the Russians
would simply forget about him as they retreated. On March 27, he
managed to escape.
Oleksandr Salfetnikov is the pastor of the ``Light of the Gospel''
Church in Balaklia. This is the city that has been under the occupation
of the Russian Army since the first days of the full-scale invasion.
During the first 2 months of the occupation, Oleksandr, together with a
team of church members, had been helping to evacuate people to peaceful
territory and providing humanitarian help to people in need. Every
Sunday he faithfully conducted church services. On May 17, the Russian
Military arrested him. Russian soldiers came to him, put a bag on his
head and took him to a cell. Although it was designed for 2-3 people,
18 people were there. Alexander noticed that the interrogation was
conducted by a man who furiously hated evangelical Christians. During
the second interrogation, Alexander was accused of being an ``American
Agent.'' He was beaten again so that he could no longer stand on his
feet. After that, he became so sick that he was taken to the hospital.
After the hospital, he was brought home because he could not walk. For
a long time he was carried in a wheelchair, then he walked with a cane.
In this way, God saved him from inevitable death.
THE SEIZURE OF CHURCH PREMISES
On September 11, 2022, the Church of Evangelical Christians
``Grace'' in Melitopol, Zaporizhia region, was occupied by the Russian
military. Armed soldiers broke into the church right during the
service. They collected the passports of all those present and
announced the nationalization of the church building. In addition, the
church members were accused of ties to the USA. At the beginning of
2023, the church ceased its activities.
In January 2023, the Russian occupying army took the house of
prayer from the Transfiguration Baptist Church in the city of
Lysychansk, Luhansk region. They took out everything that was of value
to them, and later they settled several dozen Russian soldiers there.
Today, those believers who remained in the occupation are deprived of
their building and the opportunity to gather together.
A CALL TO ACTION
We are aware that the situation with religious oppression in the
occupied territories will change only when the Ukrainian army liberates
these territories and returns Ukrainian jurisdiction there. We ask
everyone involved to continue to monitor the situation and carefully
collect and document all the facts of restrictions on religious
freedom. All crimes must be punished, and criminals must be brought
before an international court. Justice and freedom demand our joint
efforts and protection.
TESTIMONY OF METROPOLITAN YEVSTRATIY [ZORIA] OF ORTHODOX CHURCH OF
UKRAINE
Honorable members of the U.S. Congress, fellow participants in
these hearings, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to participate in this
important gathering. In his address to you, the Primate of our Orthodox
Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphany, outlined the main challenges
facing our country and the world as a result of Kremlin aggression. I
would like to focus on one of these in more detail.
In both Ukraine and Russia, the majority of the population
professes Christianity and adherence to the Orthodox Church. Formally,
we recognize the same dogma; we have the same liturgy; we recognize the
same canon law. You probably are aware that World Orthodoxy exists as a
family of local Churches that are independent of each other in matters
of governance, but remain united in matters of doctrine and practice of
religion. Traditionally, the borders of the territories of local
Churches coincide with the borders of the states formed by the
respective peoples now or in the past. Therefore, although we all
consider ourselves a single Church, administratively there are
independent Churches of Greece and Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia,
Cyprus and Serbia, Ukraine and Russia, etc.
The Ukrainian and Russian Churches were formed and exist under
different historical conditions. From the beginning of the creation of
the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the 14th century, the Russian Church
existed as a State institution. Historically, in Ukraine the Orthodox
Church was a populist institution.
So, the problem pointed out by Metropolitan Epiphany, namely that
the Moscow Patriarchate is a State agency of the Kremlin for religious
matters and should be treated as such, is not a new problem. The Moscow
Church was formed and and for centuries operated in this format.
For three centuries, when Ukraine was subordinated to Russia, until
the end of the last century, the imperial political system of Russia
used control over the Orthodox Church in Ukraine as one of the main
tools for dissolving Ukrainian identity, imperial unification and
Russification of Ukraine.
Then, when Ukraine regained independence in 1991, a large portion
of the Orthodox believers and clergy severed administrative ties with
the Moscow Patriarchate, forming a Church independent from it. As a
fruit of this complex but inexorable movement, this independent Church
received recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople; We are the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. At the same
time, the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church continues to exist
in Ukraine, and, although it calls itself Ukrainian and even makes
statements about its alleged independence from Moscow, actually remains
subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate.
According to independent scientific surveys, today 55 percent of
the population of Ukraine currently identify as members of our
independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and no more than 4 percent as
members of the Moscow Patriarchate. In the early years, especially
during the years of dominance of Pro-Russian political forces in the
Government of Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate was able to concentrate
under its control many temples and religious buildings, and over three
decades Moscow has used these structures to vigorously propagate the
ideology of ``Russkiy Mir'', which justifies Russian imperialism and
military aggression.
The Institute for the Study of War has shown in its research that
Moscow used the network of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine for a
long time before the invasion to prepare for a rapid offensive and to
establish control during the planned occupation. Moreover, some clergy
and lay people carry out the Kremlin's plans without even realizing
that they are participating in them.
In the leadership structure of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine
for the past two decades, Andrii Derkach, an agent of the Russian
special services officially recognized by the US Government, has played
a significant shadow role. Vadym Novinsky, a pro-Russian politician and
oligarch who holds the rank of deacon of the Moscow Patriarchate, also
has a decisive influence on the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate
in Ukraine. These two individuals had and to a large extent continue to
have shadow control over the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate in
Ukraine. We believe that in the interests of countering Russian hybrid
aggression and in order to protect freedom of religion, these
individuals and those associated with them should be subject to
international sanctions.
One of the great gifts that the United States Constitution has
given the world is the idea that the State must guarantee both ``free
exercise'' and ``non-establishment'' equally for all religions. This
concept, which is reflected in Ukraine's modern Constitution, requires
that the State treat religious practices with respect, but also means
that religious bodies are subject to the neutral and universal laws of
the land. The State cannot allow any organization, secular or
religious, to use its status as cover for criminal activity, especially
activity aiding an invading force during a time of war.
The security and protection of Ukraine from Russian hybrid
aggression compels a neutral legislative ban on administrative
subordination of Ukrainian religious organizations to Russian centers.
These centers--not only the Russian Orthodox Church, but also main
religious centers of, for example, certain Muslim or Protestant
Christian groups--are under the control and influence of the Kremlin
and are used to support Russia's war in Ukraine.
This is not about interfering with any individual religious
practices in Ukraine, but exclusively about taking away from Russia the
tool of administrative control of religious bodies in Ukraine.
Essentially, the same mechanisms would be used as those that recognize
the legitimate free press while banning State propaganda outlets, those
which keep open the free market while banning actions which would
undermine the Nation's sovereignty.
At the meeting of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and
Religious Organizations with the head of our parliament, all the main
religious denominations of Ukraine, with the sole and obvious exception
of the Moscow Patriarchate, agreed with the need to adopt such a law
and expressed their readiness to participate in its discussion in
preparation for the final vote.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Congress, Government, and
the people of the United States for supporting freedom of religion, and
to testify that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is open to cooperation
with all interested institutions, including the Helsinki Commission.
Thank you, and may God bless you and protect all who today fight
for our freedoms.
TESTIMONY OF MOST REVEREND BORYS GUDZIAK, METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP OF
PHILADELPHIA OF THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES
Chairman Wilson, Co-Chairman Cardin, Ranking Members Cohen and
Wicker, Distinguished Members of the Commission and dedicated staff:
Allow me to express deep gratitude for the prophetic work that you
and your predecessors have been conducting for almost half a century by
monitoring compliance with the Helsinki Accords, especially regarding
their human rights provisions. You improve the lives of hundreds of
millions. Thank you for your gracious invitation to testify before you
about Russia's War on Ukraine and the spiritual roots of Ukrainian
resilience and resistance.
Along with facts, citations, and figures, allow me to share
reflections on spiritual realities experienced by Ukrainians today.
Besides going to Ukraine six times since February 2022, I have been
privileged to visit ten countries receiving Ukrainian war refugees and
to listen to their heartrending accounts.
* * *
In the mid 1940's after the Soviet conquest of western Ukraine,
Stalin liquidated the visible structures of the Ukrainian Greek
Catholic Church. Its leadership was killed, imprisoned, or exiled to
Siberia. The clergy was arrested, tortured, and murdered. All church
buildings were confiscated, transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church,
or transformed into dance halls, agricultural warehouses, or machine
shops. My mentor, Patriarch Josyf Slipyj [1892--1984], the head of the
Church, spent 18 years in the Gulag and in 1963 was exiled from the
Soviet Union to Rome. He became the voice of the silenced martyrs in
the free world.
Patriarch Josyf traveled the world witnessing to the fact that the
persecuted but unbowed Church is alive. He often repeated that ``The
evil will not last forever.'' Most analysts expected that the Soviet
Union would endure for decades. Some considered his witness to be the
senescent fancy of a man traumatized by years of detention and abuse.
He, of course, was right, and we students were too young not to believe
him. He had faith and hope, and he shared it. The Ukrainian Greek
Catholic Church--illegal and in the catacombs for more than 40 years--
emerged in 1989 with singular moral authority to play a seminal role in
the social transformations occurring in post-Soviet Ukraine. Josyf
Slipyj's words and witness reinforce our courage today when we read and
hear about the devastating crimes against humanity in Bucha,
Borodianka, Irpin, and Izyum, and the personal accounts of those
tormented under Russian occupation in Ukraine.
Since 2014, and ever more starkly since February 2022, we are
reminded that a centuries-long struggle continues against colonial
forces seeking to eliminate Ukrainian identity, church life, and the
very right for Ukrainians to exist. About his desire to advance such
intentions the Russian president has been repeatedly explicit. The
patterns and methods of empire--tsarist, communist, Putinist--remain
fundamentally the same. They are evil; but, in Slipyj's words, this
evil will not last forever. We need to do our part so it does not.
* * *
What is the fate of Ukrainian Churches under Russian rule? Here is
a sample from a regional context. The following simplified and abridged
list regarding conditions under Russian occupation was provided by the
relatively modest Donetsk exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church:
Saint Joseph Parish, Enerhodar--the priest had to flee, and all the
building materials purchased to build the church were stolen.
Assumption of Anna Parish, Melitopol--the people gather without a
priest.
Nativity of the Virgin Mary Parish, Melitopol--looted.
Ascension Parish, Lazurne--closed.
Sts Cyril and Methodius Parish, Polianivka--closed.
St Basil the Great Parish, Novovasylivka--closed.
Nativity of St John the Baptist Parish, Orlove--closed.
St Demetrius Parish, Sviatotroyitske--the people gather without a
priest.
St Catherine Parish, Antonivka--the chapel was looted and
transformed into a grocery shop.
The Transition of the Relics of St Nicholas Parish, Muratove--
damaged.
Nativity of the Virgin Mary Parish, Kreminna--destroyed.
Pentecost Parish, Rozdolivka--damaged.
Seemingly dry facts and distant names, but so much excruciating
human pain is connected with each of these attacks and losses. The
general toll for all confessions throughout the country is shocking:
the Russian invaders have destroyed or damaged some 500 houses of
worship, so far.... Many priests and ministers have been arrested,
detained, tortured, and reportedly, close to 30, have been killed.
According to the papal nuncio in Kyiv, in the eastern most regions
under occupation no Catholic priest, Roman or Greek, remains active.
They have all had to leave, been arrested, or had to go into hiding.
Public Catholic sacramental ministry has been impeded.
This should not be a surprise to those that know the historical
precedents. Every Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory from the
end of the eighteenth century to the present--be it tsarist, communist,
or Putinists--has led to the banning and destruction of the Ukrainian
Greek Catholic Church. Those of other faith communities, at one time or
another, have suffered persecution and prohibitions.
Here is a sampling of torment meted out to Ukrainian Protestants:
On March 19, 2022, the Russian military, which captured the city of
Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, arrested [kidnapped] the evangelical
bishop of the Word of Life Church, Dmytro Bodyu, a US citizen, and held
him captive for 8 days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhgLwc2mla0
The pastor of the Evangelical Church ``Light of the Gospel'' in
Balaklia, Kharkiv region, Oleksandr Salfetnikov, was kidnapped by
Russian soldiers on May 17, 2022. He was severely beaten and tortured
in the commandant's office and for some time was teetering between life
and death in the intensive care unit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QNYatj--qIU
On June 19, 2022, the occupiers kidnapped the pastor of the
``Source of Life'' Protestant Church, Valentin Zhuravlov, in Melitopol,
Zaporizhzhia region. Armed Russian Military detained him during an
interdenominational joint prayer for the end of the war in Ukraine. In
October 2022, it was reported that Zhuravlov had been released.
https://www.uscirf.gov/religious-prisoners-conscience/forb-victims-
database/valentin-zhuravlov
The Melitopol Christian Church in Melitopol was occupied by Russian
forces who first ransacked the building and later confiscated it under
the guise of creating a Ministry for Youth on newly occupied territory.
Pastor Viktor Sergeev was later declared a terrorist by the Russian
authorities. The church was later used as a regional branch of the
``Young Guard of United Russia''.
https://slovoproslovo.info/bili-tak-scho-ridniy-batko-ne-vpiznav-
sina-pastor-iz-melitopolya-rozpoviv-pro-zvirstva-armii-rosii/
On September 11, 2022, armed Russian forces broke into the
Evangelical Christian Grace Church in Melitopol during congregational
prayer. The Russian military recorded the parishioners' ID data,
fingerprinted and photographed male members of the community, took
their documents, and accused them of having ``connections with the
United States.'' After that, the occupiers announced that they would
``Nationalize'' the church. The occupiers arrested two pastors of the
congregation. The head pastor of the Church of Evangelical Christians
Mykhailo Britsyn ended up in prison. He is still detained.
https://www.uscirf.gov/religious-prisoners-conscience/forb-victims-
database/mykhailo-britsyn
The deputy head of the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of
Evangelical Christian Baptists, Serhiy Moroz, stated that the Russian
military occupied three Baptist prayer houses in the Kherson region.
Since the military took away all the property and transformed some of
them into barracks, the faithful do not have the opportunity to pray
there. As of October 2022, the prayer houses were standing but had been
looted.
THE UKRAINIAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE
A leading sociologist of religion, Jose Casanova, professor at
Georgetown University, in his writings has amply illustrated how much
more religious pluralism and respect for freedom of conscience there is
in Ukraine than in Russia. A key feature of the Ukrainian religious
landscape is the diversity and network of churches and organizations of
different faiths. According to the Department of Religions and
Nationalities of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, at the beginning
of 2014, 35,646 individual religious communities [churches, houses of
worship] were officially registered in Ukraine, while only 29,831
organizations operated in the Russian Federation, which has
approximately 30 times the territory and four times the population of
Ukraine. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious
Organizations created in 1996 brings together 16 Churches and
confessions in a unique multi-religious body that represents 90 percent
of all Ukrainian believers. All religious organizations have equal
rights in Ukrainian society. None of the Churches ever developed a
monopoly, never became a State church, with the privileges claimed by
the Russian Orthodox Church [ROC] in the Russian Federation. In Russia,
despite the nominal constitutional declaration of freedom of
conscience, a rigid hierarchical model of state-church relations has
been created. This has led to restrictions on religious freedom,
including the banning or juridical delegitimization of certain
religious communities.
THE RUSSIAN WAR
With the Russian aggression against Ukraine that began in 2014, the
Catholic Church was hit hard. The chancery of the Donetsk Exarchate of
the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was ransacked. The bishop was
forced to move out of his city into the unoccupied part of his diocesan
territory. The communities of religious sisters were forced to leave.
Many of the priests, for example, those who had served as chaplains for
the Ukrainian military, faced death and had to flee. In Crimea, several
religious groups, flourishing before 2014, have disappeared or left,
and many of them presumably will never come back to an occupied Crimea,
even if present hostilities cease. Crimean Tatars, the indigenous
population of Crimea, mostly Sunni Muslims, are particularly oppressed.
In Soviet times they were deported from Crimea to Central Asia. They
were able to return to their ancestral land after perestroika. In
independent Ukraine, up until the Russian annexation, the Crimean Tatar
community flourished.
Since the full-scale invasion of February 2022, it is worth
repeating, some 500 religious buildings and sites have been destroyed
in Ukraine. As a result of Russian aggression 3,170 learning
institutions, 150,000 residential buildings, and 1,216 medical
facilities were destroyed or seriously damaged. Internationally, some
conservative Christians view Putin as a protector of Christian values
and of the Orthodox faith. Can you defend values by killing their
carriers? Churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church [affiliated with
the Moscow Patriarchate] have suffered the most from Russian
aggression--at least 143 have been destroyed or damaged. For example,
the Sviatohirsk Lavra, a monastic stronghold of Russian Orthodox
influence in eastern Ukraine, was severely shelled and damaged. A
plurality of the civilians killed by the invaders in eastern Ukraine
are baptized members of the Moscow Patriarchate jurisdiction.
In Mariupol, the city of Mary, the building housing the Caritas
[Catholic Charities] Foundation with a Greek Catholic chapel was
destroyed. A tank fired twice at it, killing two employees and five
members of their families who were inside. Some people were trapped but
were later rescued. The priest was forced to leave Mariupol, and
reportedly his house and the nearby chapel were destroyed.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Presently, Russia controls about 17 percent of Ukraine's territory.
In the beginning, I noted the difference in the religious
landscapes of Russia and Ukraine. Russian occupational forces do not
understand the Ukrainian religious situation. ``They are perplexed by
Ukrainian religious diversity. If something is incomprehensible, it
causes a traditional imperialistic reaction, it must be destroyed, and
everything else must be unified,'' states Ihor Kozlovskyy a Ukrainian
religious scholar who on January 27, 2016 in Donetsk was arrested,
tortured, and spent 700 days in detention, until he was released as
part of a prisoner exchange.
He has described a pattern in the Russian regime's treatment of
religious organizations in occupied territories.
1. Military pressure on religious organizations and repression:
From the seizure of religious buildings to imprisonment and executions.
2. Control [interrogations of priests and ministers, coercion to
collaborate.]
He speaks openly about the arrests, grilling of clergy, and torture
to ``break, intimidate, or destroy a person.'' Kozlovskyy predicts that
occupation authorities will follow the pattern established in 2014 in
the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where Russian authorities deregistered
``disloyal'' religious communities and banned their activities.
The occupiers view religious leaders and communities, that are not
affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, as agents and centers of
freedom, trust, authority [about 70 percent of Ukrainians say they
trust church leadership], and Ukrainian identity [mainly Ukrainian
Greek Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine but it is also
true of other religious denominations in Ukraine]. Therefore, they are
under constant attack. Control over religious leaders is a way to
control the population and legitimize the occupation.
A Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest from Melitopol whose community is
under occupation and who was forced to leave testified that the Russian
FSB and military authorities while interrogating him pressured him to
divulge what people say during Confession.
https://ukurier.gov.ua/uk/articles/svyashennik-ugkc-yakogo-
deportuvali-z-melitopolya-/?fbclid=IwAR3d9Y2wj8yBBcMY6VGfeXVE
dAuhZdtQwXWAMMNdx8wqVTTHDkFnhTvVVEk
In areas under constant attack, the religious landscape is being
physically eroded. Religious buildings are being destroyed, and
communities are disappearing as believers leave their communities en
masse. For example, the Jewish minority, although not officially
targeted, has diminished considerably. Tens of thousands of Jews were
forced to leave, and hundreds have died. American born Rabbi Yaakov Dov
Bleich, head of a Kyiv synagogue and a prominent leader in the
Ukrainian Jewish community for over 30 years, believes that the Jewish
Community will not recover its numbers. The Greek Orthodox Community in
Mariupol and in the south of the Donetsk region--a unique ethnic
minority that lived there for hundreds of years--is almost totally
eradicated. We will hear more from another witness about the Protestant
communities persecuted by the Russian forces. I can testify that I am
inspired by the witness of the Ukrainian Protestant denominations, for
example, by that of my friend, the Evangelical Pastor from Mariupol,
Hennadiy Mokhnenko.
As a Ukrainian Greek Catholic archbishop, I will briefly present
the situation of my Church in some of the exarchates that are currently
partially occupied.
THE ODESA EXARCHATE OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Kherson region is a part of the Exarchate. Seven parishes are
under occupation, three priests--one married and two monks--were
detained and interrogated but at the moment can minister.
THE DONETSK EXARCHATE OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH
Today, due to the pressure and persecution of the occupation
administrations, the activity of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,
in the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia
regions, is completely impeded [including six parishes in the Donetsk
and Luhansk regions that have been occupied since 2014]. Some parishes
stopped functioning because they were in the areas of fierce fighting,
e.g., Bakhmut.
The Donetsk deanery--14 out of 14 parishes were forced to stop
functioning [12 priests forced to leave].
The Zaporizhzhia deanery--15 out of 22 parishes stopped functioning
[9 priests left].
Two priests of the Zaporizhzhia deanery, Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan
Heleta, both members of the Redemptorist Order, were imprisoned in
November 2022, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
The Kramatorsk deanery--3 of 22 parishes stopped functioning [2
priests left].
POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
In the mind of the Kremlin and in the explicit words of the leader
of the Russian Church, Patriarch Kirill, the assault on Ukrainians'
freedom and dignity ``is a metaphysical battle,'' for which the ROC
provides ideological justification.
``Any war must have guns and ideas. In this war, the Kremlin has
provided the guns, and I believe the Church is providing the ideas,''
states Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, an Orthodox priest and theologian
who in the 2000's worked in the central offices of the Moscow
Patriarchate and today is professor at Loyola Marymount University and
director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute.
The Russian Orthodox Church has always been a strong supporter of
the Russian regime: in tsarist times, after Stalin revived and
reorganized it in 1943 after 25 years of brutal Soviet persecution
beginning in 1917, and now under Vladimir Putin, promoting his dream of
restoring the Russian empire.
In 2012, Patriarch Kirill obsequiously addressed Vladimir Putin as
follow ``what were the 2000's then [after Putin came to power]? Through
a miracle of God, with the active participation of the country's
leadership, we managed to exit this horrible, systemic crisis. I should
say it openly as a patriarch who must speak only the truth, without
regard for the political situation or propaganda. You personally played
a massive role in correcting this crooked twist of our history.''
The support of the Russian Orthodox Church has grown as the war has
progressed, with Patriarch Kirill becoming one of the war's most
prominent promoters. In his sermons, he repeatedly refers to foreign
forces as aggressors trying to divide neighboring countries [Russia and
Ukraine], which he describes as ``One People.'' For him, the aggression
is a fratricidal struggle.
"Most of the countries of the world are now under the colossal
influence of one force, which today, unfortunately, opposes the force
of our people,'' Kirill said, probably referring to the United States.
``All of our people today must wake up, wake up, understand that a
special time has come, on which the historical fate of our people may
depend.''
``We do not want to fight with anyone, Russia has never attacked
anyone,'' Kirill said in his May 2022 sermon. ``It is surprising when a
great and powerful country does not attack anyone. It has only been
defending its borders.''
Such statements come after the discovery of the war crimes in
Bucha, the carefully documented violent murders of innocent civilians,
serial rapes; after the whole world witnessed the barbarity and
unadulterated evil of the Russian invasion.
``The church realizes that if someone, driven by a sense of duty
and the need to honor his oath, stays loyal to his vocation and dies
while carrying out his military duty, then he is, without any doubt,
doing a deed that is equal to sacrifice. He sacrifices himself for
others, and therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all
the sins that a person has committed.'' Patriarch Kirill's sermon
September 25, 2022.
Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States, His
Grace Elpidophoros, called this statement a Jihadist-like promise. For
him the hypocrisy of Kirill is dumbfounding:``Russian mercenaries and
soldiers murder, rape, kidnap, and loot with his blessing.''
As the war continues, Patriarch Kirill's cynicism has progressed:
``This is how it will be in Ukraine--there will be no trace of the
schismatics, because they are fulfilling the evil, devilish will,
destroying Orthodoxy in the Kyivan land.'' [From Patriarch Kirill's
sermon on January 8, 2023.]
The Russian aggression against Ukraine is not a plan and the
determination merely of President Putin promoted by the words of
Patriarch Kirill. The support, or at least acquiescence, of the Russian
Church and society is scandalously broad. Not one of the approximately
400 bishops in Russia has spoken out against the war. The ROC clergy is
a huge body including more than 40,000 full-time clerics, priests and
deacons internationally. Only approximately 300--less than 1 percent
and mostly those outside of Russia--have signed a joint public
statement criticizing the war. Moreover, 700 university rectors, the
leaders of 700 top academic institutions, signed a public statement
supporting the war. Sociological surveys [to be taken with a grain of
salt in a totalitarian society] indicate that President Putin's
approval rating in Russia is above 80 percent [as of March 2023] and
that consistently over the last year approximately 70 percent of the
Russian population has supported the war. The contribution of the ROC
to this consensus has been considerable and is damning.
Russian theologian, Sergei Chapnin, former deputy editor-in-chief
of the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House, now at the Orthodox
Christian Study Center of Fordham University, addressed the hypocrisy
of the ROC bishops in an open letter [February 6, 2023]. He reproached
them for being ``embittered castle-builders swilling the cocktail of
imperial myth, resentment, and unbelievably primitive
eschatology....You stand by a man [Patriarch Kirill] who justifies war
crimes and has betrayed the Church. You repeat his words, retell his
criminal arguments.''
https://publicorthodoxy.org/2023/02/06/open-letter-russian-bishops/
FAITH IN ACTION
Although this hearing centers on the Russian persecution of
religion and national identity on the occupied territories and the
Russian Orthodox Church's ideological role in the aggression against
Ukraine, I would like to conclude my testimony with a supplementary
perspective, one that focusses on the hope and faith of many in Ukraine
and helps explain the fortitude of David's stand against Goliath.
There are various ways to look at the spiritual life. In the minds
of many, ``Religion'' is readily measured by institutional and
structural categories. Yet for a Christian, the Church is not a
building that can be destroyed or an organization that can be banned.
It is the Body of Christ--a mystical phenomenon. We cannot speak about
the Church without mentioning the foundation it is built on--faith in
the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is at the
crux of the Church's existence and activity. What we see happening in
Ukraine brings us back to this core.
Facing dangers and risking their lives, many Ukrainians today ask
themselves fundamental existential questions: about life, death, and
eternity. The specter of death, an ever-present menace, leads to
burning questions about the essence and criteria of life. People in
Ukraine are constantly pushed to consider their fate and their faith.
In Ukraine, there is a palpable belief in eternity. Ukrainians are
willing to risk their lives, and the fear of death is not stopping
them. The hope of eternal life overcomes this fear. For many, God has
overcome death by His solidarity with humanity in its death.
As the saying goes, in the foxholes there are few atheists. Today,
Ukraine is one big foxhole. The priests and bishops with whom I
regularly communicate have shared that during this month's Easter
services, churches were full despite the fact that civil authorities
encouraged people to avoid public places since the Russians target
objects of the civilian infrastructure. Sociological studies show that
various indicators of religious belief and practice, the level of trust
regarding churches and religious organizations, and their role in
society at a time of war are for the most part generally stable or
rising.
The Razumkov Centre survey ``War and Church the Religious situation
in Ukraine 2022'' explains further:
https://razumkov.org.ua/images/2023/02/13/2022--Religiya--ENGL.pdf
Measuring spirituality and gauging faith is a precarious exercise.
Numbers do not necessarily reflect spiritual authenticity. Yet, we can
observe a certain process of conversion occurring within Ukrainian
society. War accelerates change. President Zelensky, who was a
thoroughly secular comedian, has taken on and, in fact, helped bring
back into the international discourse a language of principles and
values. His statements often include the language of faith. Soldiers
and civilians near the frontline always welcome military chaplains. The
Churches and religious organizations [with exception of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church associated with the Moscow Patriarchate] have enjoyed
high approval ratings in Ukraine. The level of trust in ``the Church''
in February-March of this year was at 70 percent [the Army is trusted
by 96 percent of the population, the President by 83 percent, the
parliament by 51 percent].
https://credo.pro/2023/03/341940
There is another measure of faith--solidarity.
Ukrainians of all faiths and walks of life pass this test with
flying colors. ``Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least
of these my brothers, you did it to me.'' Matthew 25:40.
After one of my trips to Ukraine, I landed in New York City and was
struck by a realization sparked by what I encountered in the Big Apple:
The homeless on the streets. In Ukraine I did not see such destitution
despite the fact that 14 million people were forced from their homes.
Poles, Romanians, Germans, Italians, Canadians, Americans, and people
of scores of countries generously have offered hospitality to over 8
million Ukrainians. At the same time, Ukrainians of modest means
managed to lodge and otherwise accommodate some 6 million internally
displaced persons. One does not see many refugee camps in Ukraine.
There are no reports of starvation in Ukrainian-controlled territories.
The network of connections and support within society turned out to be
stronger than Russian missile attacks, which this past winter were
geared to freeze Ukrainian urban populations. Yet nobody froze.
Symbolically, the quickly created community shelters where people could
get a warm meal, charge their phones, and spend time during the most
violent attacks when Russians targeted power plants and electrical
grids came to be called ``hubs of invincibility.''
Today, mutual sacrifice among Ukrainians is a great spiritual
testimony. Hundreds of thousands are ready to give their lives and
volunteer to join the army, and millions are donating funds to support
the defense of the country. In the first year of the full-scale war,
more than 33.96 billion hryvnias [one billion USD] have been donated by
average Ukrainian citizens to the accounts of the National bank and the
country's three largest funds for military support. There are countless
smaller funds and ones that focus exclusively on humanitarian aid. The
culture of giving has become part of the fabric of Ukrainian society.
Almost everyone is involved in contributing to the purchase of
vehicles, drones, tourniquets, personal protective gear, and to
accommodate those who have lost everything.
In Ukraine, there is faith in action. The four basic principles of
the Catholic Church's social teaching: [1.] respect for God-given human
dignity, [2.] solidarity, [3.] subsidiarity, and [4.] the pursuit of
the common good are manifest in Ukraine's courageous resilience and
defense. The Church has played a central role in proposing and
inculcating these principles so strongly embraced during the war
crisis.
I started with the testimony of Patriarch Josyf that evil would not
last forever. It would not if we all continue to confront it resolutely
and with critical understanding of the dangers this war brings to the
United States and to the world.
Josyf Slipyj was indeed right.
Between 1939 and the mid 1980's, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church was reduced from almost 3,000 priests to some 300 whose average
age surpassed the life expectance of males in the Soviet Union. Those
300 priests were able to minister to only 1 percent of the pre-World
War II Greek Catholic population. In the natural realm, their cause was
hopeless. They were destined to die out. Providence had other plans.
Today, three decades after the fall of the USSR, the UGCC has revived
and has 3,000 priests again. Some of them, like the Redemptorists from
Berdyansk, Fathers Ivan and Bohdan, are called to be martyrs. Not
necessarily to die or be killed, but to witness. The word ``Martyr''
derives from the Greek martyria, which means witness--to stand
steadfastly for principles and to be ready to sacrifice for them.
Because evil will not last forever.
Forty years ago, the Helsinki Commission's work contributed to the
freedom of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics and to the liberation of many
other people of faith who were subject to Soviet communist oppression.
These efforts need to be remembered and lauded. They need to continue
and intensify in the circumstances of the Russian war against Ukraine
and against the international order of democracy, justice, and freedom.
It is essential to monitor closely the consequences of the Russian
invasion. The crimes against religious liberty must be identified,
fully investigated, and condemned. Concerted effort needs to be exerted
to ensure the religious and general freedoms of the people of Ukraine.
Ultimately, they are giving their lives also for ours.
Article
Clergymen or Spies? Churches Become Tools of War in Ukraine
Ukrainian officials are cracking down on a branch of the Russian
Orthodox Church that they describe as a subversive force doing the
Kremlin's bidding.
By Andrew E. Kramer
Dec. 31, 2022.
KYIV, Ukraine--Andriy Pavlenko, an Orthodox church abbot in eastern
Ukraine, seemed to be on a selfless spiritual mission. When war came,
he remained with his flock and even visited a hospital to pray with
wounded soldiers.
In fact, according to court records, Mr. Pavlenko was working
actively to kill Ukrainian soldiers and Ukrainian activists, including
a priest from a rival Orthodox church in his city, Sievierodonetsk.
``In the north, there are about 500 of them, with a mortar platoon,
five armored personnel carriers and three tanks,'' Mr. Pavlenko wrote
to a Russian officer in March, as the Russian Army was hammering
Sievierodonetsk and areas around it with artillery.
``He needs to be killed,'' he wrote of the rival priest, according
to evidence introduced at his trial in a Ukrainian court, showing he
had sentlists to the Russian Army of people to round up once the city
was occupied. Mr. Pavlenko was convicted as a spy this month and then
traded with Russia in a prisoner exchange.
Andriy Pavlenko, who had been working as an Orthodox church abbot
in eastern Ukraine, was convicted as a spy this month.
His was hardly an isolated case. In the past month, the authorities
have arrested or publicly identified as suspects more than 30 clergymen
and nuns of the Ukrainian arm of the Russian Orthodox Church.
To the Ukrainian security services, the Russian-aligned church, one
of the country's two major Orthodox Churches, poses a uniquely
subversive threat--a widely trusted institution that is not only an
incubator of pro-Russia sentiment but is also infiltrated by priests,
monks and nuns who have aided Russia in the war.
Recent months have brought a quick succession of searches of
churches and monasteries, and decrees and laws restricting the activity
of the Russian-aligned church, confusingly named the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. On Tuesday, Ukraine's Supreme Court
upheld a 2018 law that requires truthful naming of religious
organizations if they are affiliated with a country at war with
Ukraine--a law tailored to force the church to call itself Russian.
President Volodymyr Zelensky this month asked Parliament to ban any
church that answers to Russia, though no details have been proposed
yet, so it remains unclear how that would work. The Ukrainian
authorities plan to revoke the Russian church's lease on two revered
houses of worship--the Holy Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory
Church--in the Monastery of the Caves complex in Kyiv, a thousand-year-
old catacomb cradling the mummies of the holiest saints in Slavic
Orthodoxy.
The Ukrainian crackdown on the Russian church has elicited howls of
protest from both the church and the Russian government, which call it
an assault on religious freedom. On Tuesday, Metropolitan Pavlo Lebed,
the head of the Russian-aligned church at the Monastery of the Caves,
appealed to Mr. Zelensky in a video.
``Do you want to take away faith in people, take away the last
hope?'' He said. ``Do not tell us which church to go to.''
Mr. Zelensky, who is Jewish, and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies
say the crackdown has nothing to do with religious freedom, which they
argue does not extend to espionage, sedition, sabotage or treason.
For centuries, Ukraine's Orthodox churches were under the Russian
church, whose leadership in Moscow wholeheartedly supports President
Vladimir V. Putin's war. In recent years, many priests and parishes,
and millions of the faithful, have switched allegiances to the
independent new Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a migration accelerated by
the war. The two churches are virtually identical in liturgy; what
separates them are politics and nationalism.
Early in December, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called the
accusations of collaboration between its clergy and Russia ``unproven
and groundless.''
The Russian-aligned church, which still represents millions of
Ukrainians, insists that it cut ties with its Russian hierarchy at the
onset of the war. The independent Ukrainian church calls that break in
sincere and flatly condemns its counterpart for not making a real break
with Moscow.
``The Russian Orthodox Church is in reality a tool of Russian
aggression,'' Archbishop Yevstratiy, a spokesman for the Orthodox
Church of Ukraine, said in an interview in the St. Michael's Golden
Domed Monastery in Kyiv.
Outside military analysts have seen reason for Ukraine's concern.
The church of the Moscow Patriarchate ``materially supported Russia's
annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Eastern Ukraine,'' the
Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based analytical group, wrote in
a research note on the role of the Russian-affiliated church in the
war.
Evidence of churches being treated as instruments of Russian aims
is commonplace. Searches have turned up wads of cash, flags of the
former Russian client states in eastern Ukraine and pamphlets printed
by the Russian Army for distribution in occupied territories, the
Security Service of Ukraine, the domestic intelligence agency, has said
in statements.
The archimandrite, or top religious official, of the Assumption
Cathedral in Kherson in southern Ukraine attended a ceremony in the
Kremlin in which Russia claimed to annex the Kherson province as part
of Russia.
During the 8-month Russian occupation of Kherson city, Moscow's
forces cracked down on private charities in an effort to steer the
population to Russian humanitarian aid programs, which required
registration with occupation authorities. It was a policy of forcing
dependence on Russia. When a priest nonetheless continued operating a
soup kitchen, the Russian-aligned church excommunicated him.
Ukrainian officials say that priests and monks--or people posing as
them--who are also spies have caused problems for Ukraine's military.
At one monastery north of Kyiv this month, the authorities said they
found six men in monks' robes--all of whom were athletically built,
spoke Russian but no Ukrainian, and had no documents. The police
arrested the men and are investigating whether they are spies.
``Being a priest is ideal cover for any intelligence agent,'' said
a Ukrainian intelligence official knowledgeable about the investigation
of the Russian-aligned church, but who was not authorized to speak
publicly. ``People are ready to trust you, because you are a priest.''
For his part, Mr. Pavlenko, the abbot who was later convicted of
espionage, took to visiting wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a hospital,
according to Pavlo Dubyna, a former resident of the town and
acquaintance of Mr. Pavlenko. After such visits, he would walk in the
street and speak on his cellphone, Mr. Dubyna said.
Ukrainian authorities arrested the priest in April, when the
Russian military was still bombarding Sievierodonetsk, which it
captured in June. In an act they say proved Mr. Pavlenko's culpability,
Moscow accepted the priest in a prisoner swap for an American held by
Russia, Suedi Murekezi, an Air Force veteran who had been living in
southern Ukraine before the war.
Evidence from the trial opened a window into the priest's blending
of espionage and vendetta against priests in the independent Ukrainian
Church, which before the war had been winning away followers from the
Russian church. Prosecutors presented what they said were short
descriptions of the rival clergy, sent to the Russian Army by Mr.
Pavlenko.
``The spiritual guide for the nationalist brigades and the
Ukrainian Army in the Luhansk region,'' said a March 15 note that said
the priest in question should be killed.
Another message described another priest in the Ukrainian church
whose brother was fighting in the war and said, ``I think we need to
put an end to him too, as he is not our guy.''
Maria Varenikova contributed reporting.
Article
How the Russian Orthodox Church is Helping Drive Putin's War in Ukraine
IDEAS
BY GERALDINE FAGAN APRIL 15, 2022 7:00 AM EDT
Fagan is the author of Believing in Russia--Religious Policy after
Communism
To Vladimir Putin, Orthodox Christianity is a tool for asserting
Moscow's rights over sovereign Ukraine. In his February televised
address announcing the recent invasion of Ukraine, he argued the
inhabitants of that``ancient Russian land'' were Orthodox from time
immemorial, and now faced persecution from an illegitimate regime in
Kyiv.
Led by Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Church is one of the
most tangible cultural bonds between Russia and Ukraine. The gilded
domes of Kyiv's Monastery of the Caves and St. Sophia Cathedral have
beckoned pilgrims from across both lands for nigh on a thousand years.
With religious rhetoric, Putin taps into a long tradition that
imagines a Greater Russia extending across present-day Ukraine and
Belarus, in a combined territory known as Holy Rus'. Nostalgic for
empire, this sees the spiritual unity of the three nations as key to
Russia's earthly power as an exceptional civilization. Encouraged by
Putin's ``special operation,'' Russian Orthodox nationalists are
excitedly recalling the prophecy of a twentieth-century saint from
Chernihiv, now one of Ukraine's beleaguered cities. ``Just as the One
Lord God is the indivisible Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit,'' this monk fortold, ``so Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus together
are Holy Rus' and cannot be separated.''
Putin is not the first modern Moscow ruler to co-opt this idea in
seeking to consolidate secular power. During the darkest hours of World
War Two, Stalin reinstated the Russian Orthodox Church--having almost
bled it dry--and replaced the communist Internationale with a new
national anthem. Its lyrics asserted that the Soviet Union was
``unbreakable, welded together forever by Great Rus'.''
Around 2007 the Kremlin further advanced the allied concept of
Russky Mir, or the Russian World, initially a soft power project aimed
at promoting Russian culture worldwide and likened by Patriarch Kirill
to the British Commonwealth. Putin, however--unsettled by mass protests
against his authoritarian regime in 2011-12 as well as those that
toppled his vassal in Ukraine in 2013-14--has since twisted both Holy
Rus' and the Russian World to serve a more violent agenda.
Outsized emphasis now goes to Russia's tradition of warrior saints.
It was by remarkable coincidence, Putin told thousands of flag-waving
supporters at a recent Moscow stadium rally, that the military
operation in Ukraine commenced on the birthday of Saint Theodore
Ushakov, an eighteenth-century Russian naval commander famed for never
losing a single battle. ``He once said, `This threat will serve to
glorify Russia,' '' Putin enthused. ``That was the case then, is now,
and ever shall be!''
Cast aside is an alternative Christian holy tradition of defiant
passive resistance, exemplified by the first saints to be canonized in
medieval Rus', the Kyiv princes Boris and Gleb, who accepted martyrdom
at the hands of their brother. ``They gave up without a fight,'' Putin
once remarked in disgust. ``This cannot be an example for us.'' With
the attack on Kyiv's current ruler, even small acts of Christian
pacifism by Russians are quashed. A remote village priest was fined
hundreds of dollars for publicly refusing to support the war and thus
``call black--white, evil--good.'' A young woman was detained outside
Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral for holding up a simple sign bearing
the biblical commandment, ``Thou shallt not kill.''
In this Putin can count on the backing of a body of jingoistic
opinion now dominating the Church hierarchy. Flanked by medal-laden
Defense Minister Shoigu at the 2020 consecration of a cavernous black
and green military cathedral, Patriarch Kirill prayed that Russia's
armed forces would never suffer defeat. This March, on the very same
spot where Pussy Riot made their infamous protest against cozy Church-
Kremlin ties a decade ago, the Patriarch presented an icon to the head
of Russia's National Guard--the same unit now reportedly suffering
heavy losses in Ukraine--in the hope that this would``inspire new
recruits taking their oath.''
Kirill is not an outlier in his support for the war, as no senior
cleric inside Russia has expressed dissent. ``Everything the president
does is right,'' one archbishop told local news agency Regnum in late
March. ``Speaking as a monarchist, I would personally place a crown
upon Putin's head if God granted the opportunity.'' Similar fervor is
found among respected Moscow parish priests. ``Russian peacekeepers are
conducting a special operation in order to hold Nuremberg trials
against the whole of Europe,'' one preached during a recent sermon, as
he denied reports of civilian casualties. ``What is the Westable to
produce? Only ISIS and neofascism.''
This priest concluded his sermon with the hope that Kazakhstan,
Moldova, and Georgia would be reunited with Russia, in addition to
Ukraine. If Putin is looking to burnish his legacy as gatherer of
historical Russian lands, there is a problem. The inhabitants of
Ukraine are not interested in being ``liberated'' by his operation to
``de-Nazify'' their country. ``The Russian World has arrived!'' One
woman shouted sarcastically as she filmed invading troops facing off
against a crowd of angry locals just 20 miles from Ukraine's eastern
border with Russia. ``We are not waiting for you, so get out of here!''
Within hours of the first missile strikes on February 24, even the the
Orthodox Church in Ukraine that is under the Patriarch of Moscow turned
indignantly to Putin. ``We ask that you stop this fratricidal war
immediately,'' Metropolitan Onuphry implored. ``Such a war has
justification before neither God nor man.''
Putin's is thus a spiritual, as well as military, misadventure.
Similar to Stalin' spivot at the lowest point in World War Two, his
reliance upon the Orthodox Church over the last decade smacks of
desperation. It hardly stems from personal commitment to the faith:
while projected as a believer from the beginning of his presidency, for
more than a decade Putin largely rebuffed the Church's policy goals--
such as mandatory classes on Orthodoxy in public schools--until his
need for autocratic symbolism prevailed after his return to the
presidency in 2011-12. Throughout his rule he has consistently spoken
and behaved at odds with normative Orthodox Christian behavior, such as
by claiming that choice of faith is unimportant since all religious
categories are human invention, or when awkwardly greeting Patriarch
Kirill with the gestures reserved for venerating a sacred relic or
icon.
Bellicose rhetoric from Orthodox clerics does resonate with some
devout Russians, but this is a narrow swath of the population. While a
2019 national poll found that over 60 percent of Russians older than 25
identify as Orthodox, those attentive to institutional Church life--
such as by attending Easter worship services--amount to only a few
percent. The same poll found a precipitous drop in those identifying as
Orthodox among the 18-24 age group--just 23 percent.
This contrasts starkly with Ukraine, where a quarter of the
population attends Easter services and a majority of 18-24 year-olds
define as believers. Swift and total alienation of millions of
Ukrainian Orthodox is a colossal price for Patriarch Kirill to pay for
loyalty to Putin, Ukraine being where a third of his parishes and
monasteries are located. The Patriarch's international standing is also
shot, as Orthodox abroad not gagged by the Kremlin's new ban on
criticism of the Russian armed forces have condemned the war--including
Kirill's own bishops in Estonia and Lithuania--along with Pope Francis
and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Instead of a Russian World, the
Moscow Patriarch may soon find his authority stopping at the borders of
the Russian Federation.
The Church's dwindling reach thus means that Putin cannot use it to
restore the age-old dream of an expanded Holy Rus'. Approaching 70,
however, Russia's president has no long-term ambition to consolidate
Orthodox spirituality--only his personal grip on power for however many
more years God grants him.
CONTACT US AT [email protected].
TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary
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