Protests against Patriarch Kirill

July 19, 2009, Kyiv.

The plot is dedicated to the public reaction to the visit to Ukraine of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and the discussion of the issue of the creation of a Local Orthodox Church.

In the video: protests against the visit; comments from the clergy; Patriarch Kirill with security in Kyiv.

Comments: Head of the Information and Publishing Department of the UOC-KP, Archbishop Evstratiy (Zorya); Head of the Department of External Church Relations of the UOC, Archimandrite Kirill; Vicar of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Archbishop Pavlo.

Reference: In July 2009, Patriarch Kirill's visit to Ukraine caused protests from national-democratic and right-wing radical organizations, which demanded the creation of a single Local Orthodox Church and emphasized the independence of Ukraine from the jurisdiction of the ROC. In response, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko emphasized the spiritual nature of the visit and announced a strategic goal — the unification of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. To ensure public order, the authorities deployed more than 5,500 police officers.