1. We express our support for the legitimate government of Ukraine and call on it to fully restore constitutional order and affirm citizens’ political, economic and other fundamental rights and freedom. We note, in particular, the urgent need for a decisive, consistent and systematic fight against corruption, which eats away at our society and violates the tenets of our religion.
2. We affirm once again our statement of 22 February 2014, which categorically condemns any sort of discussion of a potential division of our homeland and any attempts at separatism and emphasizes “the territorial integrity of Ukraine, whose independence is a gift from God and is valued by our entire nation, which is why have no right to allow for its separation, as this would be a sin before God and future generations.”
We condemn the provocations seeking to promote confrontation and hostility between people in different regions of Ukraine and between different ethnic and religious minorities and we encourage the government to refrain from any steps that could be interpreted as seeking to divide Ukrainians on religious, linguistic, national, regional or other grounds. Under such difficult conditions, we must do our utmost to maintain a united Ukrainian state and we must take all possible steps to prevent any attempts to divide our country. We appeal to everyone not to yield to provocation or to not support, under any circumstances, any rhetoric seeking to undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
3. Given the current sociopolitical situation, we, along with the Churches and religious organizations and government authorities, must take every possible effort to preserve religious peace in Ukraine. Under no circumstance should we condone any intolerance on religious grounds. Our Ukrainian family must remain united in its diversity. In a free country, everyone the right to freely express his or her religious beliefs and there should be no interference in the right to profess other beliefs. Freedom of religion must be guaranteed by the state, and we are ready to assist the state in fulfilling this constitutional function.
4. We call on all citizens of our country to faithfully fulfill their official and civic duties in accordance with the applicable law, to keep emotions in check, and to not give in to fear of change that can only lead us towards a better future. We will continue to follow this closely and, if needed, we will invest our authority and all the resources at our disposal towards this end
5. We remain ready for further cooperation with the new government, whose wisdom, persistence and integrity will lead our country to the spiritual and economic prosperity it so rightly deserves given the faith, strength and heroic struggle of our people.
On behalf of the Head of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations,
Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary
Administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
February 26, 2014
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