"Patriarch Porfirije has sent a letter expressing strong and unconditional support to Onufriy, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, over the passage of the law on protecting the constitutional order in religious organizations' activities by the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian Parliament] in Kiev. In his letter, Porfirije expresses deep regret at the fact that the parliament in Kiev has passed a law banning the activities of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the statement read.
Porfirije recalled that that the UOC was persecuted by the "totalitarian and criminal fascist regime" of the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945), established with a support of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, adding that the law legitimizes the persecution of clergy and members of the UOC, as well as the seizure of their property, the statement added.