The head of the UGCC acknowledged the need to explain to Western partners the legality of the ban on the UOC

Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, commented in a recent interview with the publication “Levy Bereg” on the process of enacting the law banning the activities of religious organizations linked to centers of influence in Russia. According to the religious leader, after the law went into effect, the Ukrainian side had to make significant efforts to convince the international community that there were no violations of religious freedom in the country.

, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, emphasized that the notion of “liquidating” the Church was misguided from the outset. Shevchuk noted: “I think one of our weaknesses was that we even began talking about liquidating a certain Church. That’s not quite right.” According to his position, the main discourse should have been based not on the legal dismantling of structures, but on protecting the feelings of the faithful and countering the use of religion in the interests of the aggressor country.

During the discussion, Shevchuk also recalled the “advocacy trips” taken by members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (ACCRO) to the West. During these visits, representatives of the Ukrainian clergy actively explained to international partners that the measures taken were not intended to restrict the rights of believers but were protective in nature for the state in the context of a military conflict.

As a reminder, earlier, the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (GESS), Viktor Yelensky, acknowledged that there is a risk the state could lose in international courts if the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) appeals to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).