Ukrainian Orthodox Church called the scandal regarding an Orthodox icon which Bosnia's Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik gave to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday a “political gesture towards the Russian Federation, Radio Liberty wrote Wednesday.
“This is a political gesture towards the Russian Federation because this icon is from the territory that is now, unfortunately, under occupation. And it does not depend on us as a church. It is really good that the BiH Foreign Ministry reacted to this event because such things should not happen at all. Every nation must respect other nations and not do such things,” Metropolitan of Ukraine Epiphanius said in an interview with the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty.
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It is believed the icon was brought from Luhansk, an east Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian forces since 2014.
Srna News Agency was the first to publish the photo of the 300-year-old gilded icon bearing the stamp of Soviet Ukraine, proving its origin.
