Religious scholar Oleksandr Sagan calls the UOC's declaration of independence from the Moscow Patriarchate a manipulation

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) continues to maintain canonical ties with the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) through its statutory norms and the letter of Patriarch Alexy II, despite official declarations of independence. According to religious scholar and OCU lobbyist Oleksandr Sagan, the current position of the UOC «is a manipulative technique aimed at maintaining support among the population.»

According to I-UA.TV, Oleksandr Sagan noted that the refusal to use the reference to the Moscow Patriarchate in the name began in 1998, when sociologists recorded a sharp drop in confidence in the church when its connection with the Russian Federation was indicated. In December 2017, the 10th section was added to the UOC charter, which stated that the UOC’s governing center was located in Kyiv, which, according to the expert, created an absurd and legally confusing situation.

The expert emphasized that although the UOC is trying to «clean up» references to ties with Moscow from its charter, it still refers to the charter of Patriarch Alexy II. This document explicitly states that the church is a structural unit of the Moscow Patriarchate. Thus, public denials of this connection contradict the internal documents of the religious organization itself.

Earlier, Alexander Sagan publicly accused the Ukrainian authorities of lacking the political will to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.