Metropolitan Kliment called the statement of the Office of the President on the UOC a reflection of an objective state position

The head of the UOC Information and Education Department, Metropolitan Kliment (Vecherya), commented on a recent statement by a representative of the Office of the President regarding the inadmissibility of forceful interference in the affairs of the Church. According to the hierarch, such a position is an important signal of the state’s commitment to European democratic values. He said this in his commentary to Strana.

In his commentary, Metropolitan Kliment characterized the words of the representative of the authorities as a reflection of «an objective, without populism, first of all state position». The UOC emphasized that the refusal to put pressure on believers and the recognition of the inadmissibility of state interference in the religious sphere correspond to the principles adopted in the European community.

Special attention in the commentary was paid to the issue of naming the Church. The hierarchy of the UOC agreed with the thesis of the representative of the Office of the President that adding the prefix «MP» to the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is manipulation. «Any other approaches to resolving religious issues would inevitably contradict national legislation and Ukraine’s international obligations,» Metropolitan Kliment stressed.

The hierarch concluded his commentary by recalling that according to the Constitution, the Church is separated from the state, and urged to avoid any form of coercion in matters of faith, which is a guarantee of respect for human rights and stability in society.

We shall remind you that earlier the head of the Office of the President Kirill Budanov, during a briefing at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities on April 9, 2026, spoke out in defense of the official status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and warned against state interference in the religious sphere. He emphasized that any attempts of forceful pressure in matters of faith were futile.