Ukrainian orthodox church leader: Using Nazi symbols in religious ceremonies is inappropriate

 

Patriarch Filaret, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP), has assured the World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder that his church does not support any actions or calls inciting hatred against Jews. He denied that the clergy of the UOC-KP had taken part in a religious ceremony in which Nazi symbols were used.

In his letter to Lauder, Filaret wrote: “The joint task of the people of all nations, religions, and world views is to learn from the tragic past, to prevent bloodthirsty evil, enmity, and hatred from again settling in the hearts and leading to the killing or harassment of others just because they do not belong to your nation, do not practice your religion, or do not share your worldview."

In August, WJC President Ronald Lauder had expressed alarm that a memorial prayer for Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the Nazi Waffen-SS during World War II had been held and that the priests of the Orthodox Church had taken part in it. Lauder wrote that such actions “gave religious legitimacy to the rehabilitation of the SS” and appealed to Filaret to use his moral authority to prevent his clergy from being present at such events in the future.

"As for the particular case, which caused your concern and was the direct reason for your letter, I have to say that according to the information I received from the Eparchy of Lviv of our church, the priests who participated in that event do not belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiev Patriarchate, and no blessing on behalf of our church was given for this event,” Filarat wrote in his reply to Lauder. He said that the mission of the church was to pray for all people – good and bad.

At the same time, the patriarch expressed disapproval of the use of Nazi symbols during religious ceremonies