Mayor of Chernivtsi: Decision to take land from UOC churches is populist

Chernivtsi Mayor Roman Klichuk said at a press conference whether the city council could take land from the UOC communities. This is reported by acc.cv.ua.

 

“Even if we decide that we are taking away land from churches, we do not fully understand what this will affect. What’s next? We will not close this church and will not force people to go to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. It is not difficult to make such a decision at a city council session. The deputies have a common vision and we understand that there should be nothing Russian in Chernivtsi and Bukovina. But the way how to go about this, we must determine the correct one. We continue consultations with the military administration and law enforcement agencies, and we are jointly looking for a solution that would be effective, and not populist,” said the mayor of Chernivtsi.

 

Now all religious buildings that are on land owned by the city pay nothing, according to the law of Ukraine.

 

According to Roman Klichuk, churches in the city will be checked, for example, for the presence of illegal outbuildings. Also, the city council has already turned to law enforcement officers regarding parking, which was equipped on the territory of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC, on Cathedral Square.

 

“Checks can become grounds for terminating the contract for the use of land. But what to do next? They took the land — and then? This does not force the church to move to the OCU. Such a decision must be made by the parishioners, or by the priest who decided to move from one parish to another. This is the only legal way that exists today,” says Roman Klichuk.