In the U.S., Orthodox Christians have spoken out against awarding Zelenskyy the “Beacon of Hope” Award

A petition has been launched in the U.S. against the decision by the congregation of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in New York to award Volodymyr Zelenskyy the “Beacon of Hope” award for 2026. This was reported by the OrthoChristian website.

The petition, published on the Orthodox Reflections website, was initiated by Orthodox Christian Cassandra St. John. In an open letter to the church’s board of trustees, she notes that Zelenskyy “rulesUkraine as a police state, freezing elections, silencing critics, and censoring the media.” The petition’s authors also accuse the Ukrainian authorities of brutally persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including the forcible seizure of more than 1,000 of its churches, the arrest of clergy, and the forced mobilization of clergy into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The petition describes the decision to award Zelenskyy as “a directslap in the face to all Orthodox jurisdictions in NorthAmerica” that are praying for the faithful of the UOC. Each signature on the petition is automatically forwarded to the leadership of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops.

At the same time, representatives of St. Nicholas Church defend their decision, stating that the award is given for “unwaveringdefense of freedom and human dignity.”
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