Archbishop Sylvester: UOC ended up in an information blockade

Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, Rector of Kyiv Theological Schools. Photo: news.church.ua

The leading media of Ukraine have created an information blockade for the UOC, the rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, said in an interview with Greek journalists.

“As a rule, we are approached by journalists from outside Ukraine,” the bishop said. “Journalists from almost all leading Ukrainian channels simply refuse to communicate with us.”

According to the bishop, in the first days of the confrontation at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, representatives of the UOC personally addressed the journalists of TV channels and suggested, “Let's talk, we will explain our position to you.”

“But even if it was filmed on camera, it was not usually shown in the report,” the archbishop said.

He noted that instead of providing objective information, the Ukrainian media often broadcast myths about the Church.

“Every day there is news about how bad representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are. The media creates a picture that we are negative in every sense. Most of the people are influenced by the news, they believe in the news channels and, of course, they perceive us through the prism of these created myths,” Vladyka said.

“There is an information blockade in terms of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the coverage of relevant issues by representatives of the UOC. We see a way to break this blockade only through communication with journalists who are outside of Ukraine. It is not necessary to agree with us, but I believe that every voice should be heard,” the rector of KDAiS emphasized.

As reported by the UOJ, according to the findings of the Institute of Mass Information, Ukrainian media use hate speech and violate journalistic standards in more than 82% of publications about the UOC.

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