Clear Sign of Anti-LGBTQIA+ Discrimination in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

 In advocate.com, Trudy Ring reminds us of anti-LGBTQIA+ bias in one of the many Orthodox churches in the world. Along with the Greek Orthodox Church, which as horrified that the Greek Parliament approved same-sex weddings and adoption of children, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church gets the “loser of the month” award for being horribly anti-LGBTQIA+. The church removed a medal given to a gay soldier. Why? Because he is gay.

As Ring reports: Viktor Pylypenko, a medic who’s served in Ukraine’s effort to turn back Russia’s invasion, had received a medal from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv for “sacrifice and love to Ukraine,” along with other members of his division’s medical corps. He posted on Facebook that he was grateful for the medal.

“I also deliberately assumed that the church has changed its attitude towards LGBT, since it rewards an openly gay activist for protection--in theory, I thought, this is a sharp reversal of the church to humanity, a noble road map to all other denominations to reconciliation, or... just a mistake,” said Pylypenko.”

But a church leader, Patriarch Filaret, quickly asserted that the denomination still considers homosexuality a sin and withdrew the medal from Pylypenko.

Ah...God bless the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is just as homophobic as their kith and kin of other Orthodox churches and many Protestant churches, and many Catholic churches. The list goes on and on.

Dozens of soldiers have given back their medals because of how the church treated Pylypenko. Pylypenko has been moved by such a sign of solidarity with his predicament in life. “And suddenly I saw the number of bright people I respect, soldiers who supported and protected me — it was indescribably joyful.”

Here’s a link to the story: https://www.advocate.com/world/ukrainian-gay-soldier-medal-withdrawn

Even in war-torn Ukraine, near Kyiv, the Orthodox church practices hate and fear of the Other, of the marginalized, of the LGBTQIA+ person of faith. Friends, this is not the way of Jesus, and the faithful leaders should know better.

May he get his medal back some day, from an enlightened Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

May it be so.

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