A UKRAINIAN politician wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury last Tuesday expressing “deep shock” on the contents of a document about Ukraine presented to the General Synod (News, 1 March).
The head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience, Professor Viktor Yelensky, suggested that the document “draws groundless parallels and dubious comparisons between the aggressor and its victim.
“It places Russia, which has trampled on international law and its obligations, invaded the territory of a sovereign state, destroyed Ukrainian cities and villages, killed tens of hundreds of civilians, tortured and raped Ukrainians, on the identical level as Ukraine, which is bleeding out, defending not only our freedom and really existence but additionally protecting Europeans and safeguarding the world order.”
The document, which was composed by the chair of the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council, Mark Sheard, outlines the human cost of the war for either side, and considers what attitude the Church should take to the continuing conflict.
It suggests that Christians should “avoid actions or words that dehumanise Russia or Russians”, and that “even when the West has no other option but to support Ukraine, the current struggle shouldn’t diminish the Church’s sadness in regards to the war or blind it to the deepest challenges war poses to Christian thought.”
Professor Yelensky alleges that the document “tries to whitewash and justify Russia, which is likely to be ‘humiliated’ and ‘disadvantaged’ by Western support of Ukrainian resistance”.
It seems that it is a reference to a passage within the document during which it is usually recommended that “the West make sure that in supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defence it doesn’t seek the broader humiliation of Russia and the further re-ordering of a European security architecture that disadvantages Russia.”
The letter was sent before the Synod debate for which it was produced. In that debate, Archbishop Welby said that he was “not neutral” within the war, and that “Ukraine is paying for our security with blood” (Synod, 1 March).
He referred to his recent visit to the country, which, in an interview with the Church Times, he said had been an try to fulfil the “biblical and theological imperative to face — as much as one is in a position — with those that are oppressed” (News, 14 February).
During the trip, he met church and political leaders, including Professor Zelensky. The topic of Draft Law 8371, a proposed latest law proscribing any religious organisation that’s subordinate to Russia, was raised at several of those meetings, and is referred to in Mr Sheard’s document.
The law seems more likely to affect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has historic but now disputed links with the Moscow Patriarchate. In May 2022, the UOC stated its separation from the Russian Orthodox Church, but critics, including the hierarchy of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), have argued that the Church stays linked to Moscow (Podcast, 9 February).
The situation is described in Mr Sheard’s document as having “affected freedom of faith or belief (FoRB) within the territory controlled by the Ukrainian Government”, a claim that Professor Yelensky disputes.
“No religious organization has been banned since Ukraine gained independence,” he asserts, and asks why the document doesn’t consult with the variety of Ukrainian clerics killed by Russian troops in the midst of the war.
In an interview with the Church Times in Kyiv last month, Professor Yelensky was asked what, in his view, the UOC needed to do to avoid falling foul of Draft Law 8371.
The leaders of the Church needed to verify its full separation from the Moscow Patriarchate at the executive level, he said, to “send a robust message to Ukrainian society”. A majority of Ukrainians desired to see the Church banned completely, he said, however the draft law didn’t try to do that.
Bob Amsterdam, an American lawyer who has acted for the UOC and produced a report on the situation, previously told the Church Times that the draft law was a “bare-knuckled attack” on the Church.
He linked the law with reports of violence against UOC priests, and the forced eviction of the UOC from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (News,18 August 2023).
After a visit to the Lavra with representatives of the OCU in February, Archbishop Welby met young faculty members of the UOC theological academy.
Fr Panteleimon, one among the priests, said: “We have never supported the aggression. We support our country, we love our people, and we condemn this aggression.”
And one other of the young theologians, Fr Nicodimos, said that there was a desire for a decisive split with the Moscow Patriarchate, especially amongst younger members of the UOC.
Last Friday, a Lambeth Palace spokesperson said: “The Archbishop has responded privately to Viktor Yelensky’s letter. During his most up-to-date visit to Ukraine, Archbishop Justin emphasised that the Church of England’s commitment to freedom of faith or belief and concerns regarding Draft Law 8371 doesn’t — and shouldn’t — be seen as in any way diminishing its ongoing solidarity with Ukraine.
“As the Archbishop said during his speech at Synod, he just isn’t neutral on this unjust war, and continues to induce maximum solidarity with the courageous people of Ukraine.”
