OCU lobbyist Sagan: Authorities block the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The status and activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine can be regulated without adopting new decisions, using existing legislation and the conclusions of state expertise. According to religious scholar and OCU lobbyist Oleksandr Sagan, the main problem is the lack of political will of the authorities to implement the existing legal norms.

According to the i-ua.tv portal, Sagan emphasized that the issue of the UOC’s affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate has been repeatedly recorded in the conclusions of specialized examinations. In particular, he recalled a large-scale study conducted in January 2023, which confirmed in detail the inextricable link between the UOC and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

“The problem of the Moscow Patriarchate is the problem of the position of the authorities. The authorities do not allow the implementation of the current legislation of Ukraine. That’s all,” the professor said. According to him, when there is political will, state mechanisms work instantly, but in this case the laws are actually ignored.

In conclusion, Oleksandr Sagan summarized that there is no need to invent new regulations to finally resolve the issue. In his opinion, it is enough to ensure the implementation of those laws that have already been adopted by the state and officially confirm the status of a religious organization.

Earlier, Alexander Sagan called the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia a “project of the Soviet special services.” Sagan argues that the autocephaly of the OCCLS cannot be taken seriously, as it was granted during Czechoslovakia’s time under Soviet influence.