Top Ukrainian dignitary asks Starmer for help in crackdown on Zelensky’s Orthodox church

Keir Starmer has come under pressure to quickly appoint a religious freedom envoy after becoming frustrated by the delay in replacing former Tory MP Fiona Bruce.

The row erupted when a priest from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) called on the UK to help urge President Volodymyr Zelensky to end his crackdown on his country’s church and priests.

Metropolitan Arseniy, abbot of the Dormition Lavra of Sviatohirsk, was arrested on suspicion of “disseminating information about the movement or location of armed forces” to Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But he claimed it was part of a broader persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by Zelensky’s government in the current war.

He spoke exclusively with The Independent urging the UK to use its influence to end the persecution of its church.

The issue was raised at a recent international conference in Berlin and has already sparked concerns from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as well as the Foreign Office (FCDO), which previously confirmed it was monitoring the situation in Ukraine.

However, with the UK yet to appoint a new religious freedom envoy, former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith criticized the government for not attending the Berlin conference.

He said: “Keir Starmer promised that ‘the Labor Party will be a champion of religious freedom’. But after more than 100 days in power, he has still not appointed a special envoy for freedom of religion or belief.

“As a result, last week at an international conference in Berlin on this vital issue, attended by senior officials from 38 countries, the UK was not represented at ministerial level. Our presence and our voice have never been more necessary. Throughout the world, threats to this most fundamental human right are increasing. »

A Downing Street spokesperson said an appointment would be made in due course.

The spokesperson said The Independent: “The government will retain the position of envoy for freedom of religion and belief. There will be an update in due course.

The Independent recently revealed that the Ukrainian government was attempting to expel Ukrainian MP Artem Dmytruk, a critic of the Church’s anti-Orthodox policies, from the United Kingdom.

Talk to The IndependentMetropolitan Arseniy warned: “The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is facing a great test. Our sacred temples and shrines have been destroyed and our priests and parishioners are killed during the war. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government seeks to ban the Church. Priests are wrongly arrested and our places of worship are seized and confiscated.

The Ukrainian government has turned its attention to the UOC, even though many of its priests are helping the country’s military on the front lines against Putin’s Russian forces. However, Zelensky’s government has accused many UOC priests of spying for Russia and claims it is taking orders from Putin ally Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, a former senior KGB official.

Metropolitan Arseniy is the Father Superior of the Svyatohirsk Lavra, one of the most famous Orthodox monasteries in Ukraine. He is in pre-trial detention in Dnipro, where he has been arbitrarily detained since April.

He strongly denies accusations against him personally and against the UOC that they are working for Putin.

He said: “The Ukrainian authorities are unfairly accusing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of being the mouthpiece of Russian propaganda. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a thousand-year-old Christian denomination. Its churches and monasteries are world famous. We do not preach any ideology. We preach the good news of God’s promise of forgiveness of sins.

He pointed out that his monastery was closed by the communist authorities of the former Soviet Union and only reopened after its collapse, which he took over in 1995.

Ukrainian authorities turned their attention to him after he preached a sermon in September 2023, complaining that pilgrims were being prevented from traveling to the monstrosity because of the war. But he insists his monastery shared Ukraine’s pain.

“We, from the Svyatohirsk Lavra, suffered during the war together with our fellow Ukrainian citizens. Our local parishioners are fighting on the front lines and our historic monastery has been badly damaged by bombing. However, the monks have persevered and continue to support those displaced by the conflict. Located just fifteen kilometers from the front lines in eastern Ukraine, the community provides shelter and food to those most at risk.

“Despite all the good our monastery has done, the authorities seek to destroy our hard work. The government has launched a campaign to take the monastery away from us. During this time, I was persecuted because of my faith and detained in prison.

Describing his ordeal, he said: “In violation of Ukrainian law and criminal procedure, I was detained in a penal institution for almost six months. My court hearings offer no hope of relief.

“Over the summer, I was forced to travel eight hours from my place of detention in Dnipro to Sloviansk, where the court is located, a city close to the front lines. The vehicle often had no air conditioning and I suffocated in the summer heat.

“I was handcuffed for the entire journey and denied water and food. Once the hearings were over, I was forced to return to Dnipro under the same conditions.2

The harrowing journey then repeated itself the next day.

He added: “I am 56 years old and my health is starting to deteriorate. Even though I don’t know when I will be released, I put my trust in God and I will continue to speak only the truth.

“I pray for this ordeal to end, for my return to Sviatohirsk, for the reconstruction of our monastery and for peace in Ukraine. I also pray for an end to the attack on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We Ukrainians must be united.”