Patriarch Kirill: Met. Jonathan sentenced for calls for the unity of Rus

Patriarch Kirill. Photo: Moscow Patriarchate
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, made a statement regarding the decision of the Vinnytsia court to sentence Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchyn to a 5-year imprisonment. The statement was published on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.
According to Patriarch Kirill, the UOC bishop was sentenced for calling for the spiritual unity of Holy Rus, praying for peace and condemning the unrighteousness of schism.
He said that he personally knows Metropolitan Jonathan "from the years of his studies and labours at the Leningrad Theological Academy", and "back in the late 1980s the state security agencies of the atheist state unsuccessfully tried to intimidate him".
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church called the accusations against the Tulchin bishop "absolutely null and void" and the evidence "falsified".
Patriarch Kirill once again calls on the international community, religious and political leaders and human rights organisations "to pay attention to the purposeful policy of the Ukrainian authorities aimed at destroying the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the ongoing unpunished persecution of its hierarchs and clerics, monastics and laypeople".
As earlier reported, Metropolitan Jonathan was sentenced to five years in prison.
Read also

Son of Rape Victim Reunites With Birth Mother, Travels Country as Pro-Life Advocate
Steventhen Holland, who was adopted by a foster family, now travels the country sharing the miraculous story of his birth to affirm the value of every life.

Greece Establishes Legal Body to Represent St. Catherine Monastery on Sinai
The bill was drafted by the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports.
Athonite Monks Protest PM's Visit to Holy Mountain
The skete monks stated that the majority of Athonite monks were opposed to receiving Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the Holy Mountain.
Russian Government Bans Satanism
The ban targets both registered and unregistered groups, including the Satanic Temple, founded in 2012 with over 10 million global followers, and groups like the Temple of Set and Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan.
Fr. Nektarios Zorbalas of Australia Has Fallen Asleep
In his euology, Archbishop Makarios of Australia called Father Nektarios "a model of humility, integrity, and selfless service to others.
Russian Church Canonizes Married Priest, Establishes Feast for Miraculous Icon
Synod honors Righteous John of Rostov and the Rostov Tenderness Icon in major liturgical additions.