kyiv prohibits holding Orthodox Easter masses in the capital’s churches

The Government of kyiv announced this Tuesday that churches in the capital will not be able to host masses on the occasion of Orthodox Easter, which this year is celebrated on April 16.

From the capital Administration they explained that religious services in the temples will be held online, and they argued their decision by taking advantage of the martial law and curfew in force.

“The city has also asked the leaders of religious communities to limit the number of mass services and ensure online broadcasts from religious buildings on Ukrainian television channels and on the Internet,” they added.

The instructions from the kyiv authorities come in the midst of the persecution of the Ukrainian Canonical Orthodox Church (UPTs, for its acronym in Russian) by the Government of President Vladimir Zelensky, which translates into attempts to evict the clergy from the Monastery of the Caves in kyiv, takeovers of cathedrals by supporters of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PTsU), as well as searches and accusations of alleged pro-Russian activity.

At the same time, the activities of the UPTs have already been prohibited in several territories of the country. This same Tuesday, the deputies of the Parliament of the province of Volhynia made a decision in this regard and recommended that the executive bodies break the lease contracts in those places where the churches of the canonical branch are located, reports the local press. The authorities of the Rovno and Khmelnitskiy regions adopted similar resolutions.

At the end of March, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report in which it highlighted its concern about the possibility that the State’s activities directed against the UPTs “could be discriminatory.” With RT

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