Dmytruk from VR's rostrum: No laws will bar us from attending our churches

Artem Dmytruk in the Verkhovna Rada. Speech on August 20, 2024. Photo: screenshot from Dmytruk’s Telegram channel

On August 20, 2024, Ukrainian MP Artem Dmytruk, following the vote on the law effectively banning the UOC, addressed the deputies and Orthodox believers from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada. The MP posted a video of his speech on his Telegram channel.

"Today, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine made a fatal mistake by voting to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church! And this mistake, without any doubt, will have tragic consequences for the entire Ukrainian people!" said the MP.

He reminded the deputies that persecution of faith has always existed: for 2000 years, attempts have been made to ban the Church of Christ.

"Just as today, dozens of UOC priests are imprisoned on trumped-up charges. One of the pillars of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, Metropolitan Arseniy, is being held in pretrial detention in inhumane conditions, without any evidence of his involvement in 'crimes'. The persecutors are doing everything they can to ensure that this man dies in agony and suffering for his loyalty to the Lord!" he said.

The MP emphasized that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church consists of 6 million believers, thousands of clergy, and monks.

"Our magnificent churches, cathedrals, and monasteries, built by the hands of parishioners, are the heart of our spirituality, our history," Dmytruk noted. "No laws will prevent us from praying, attending churches, and defending our faith. There are no obstacles to this, just as there were none for the Lord."

The Orthodox MP addressed the believers and urged them to continue going to their churches, to pray for our country, for the persecutors, and for the enemies.

"Those who can – build new churches, support the priests. Stand with our Primate, Metropolitan Onuphry! Faith is eternal, Faith is glorious, our Faith is Orthodox!" he concluded.

Previously, Robert Amsterdam drew international attention to the fact that Artem Dmytruk, the MP who did not vote for the ban on the UOC, had received death threats.

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