Metropolitan Klyment of the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine appealed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over the oppression of the Ukrainian Church in Russian-annexed Crimea.
This is stated in the video message of Klyment, cited by KrumRealii, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
"I appeal to you regarding the protection of the Ukrainian Church in Crimea. Until 2014, there were 49 religious communities operating in Crimea that were subordinated to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. Today, six religious communities remain on the territory of Crimea, 3 of them are under threat of termination of existence. We have been winning back our right to pray in the Ukrainian Church for six years in Russian courts and the European Court of Human Rights.
I request the representatives of the UN countries to start negotiations with Russia to resolve these problems immediately. Expressing concern is not the way to solve a problem. We need a practical solution that will ensure our constitutional right in Crimea to pray in our churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine," the hierarch said.