It is not about banning the UOC-MP, but about severing relations and cutting ties, - Sagan

Religious expert Oleksandr Sagan, who lobbies for the interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the mass media, has said that the news about the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a “narrative of the Russian Federation”. He said on the air of “IUATV”.

“It is not about banning this or that church, the bill is about the need to break relations between the aggressor centers in the country. It is on this that there is a lot of speculation. In particular, that Ukraine wants to ban, and this is what they start playing on abroad, saying that our freedom of conscience is being violated. In fact, any institute that used to have ties with the Russian Federation has now stopped them. Only one institution, and that is the UOC-MP, which is properly called the canonical Orthodox Russian Church in Ukraine, has retained these ties. And the draft law, which was submitted to the Rada back in January, precisely states the necessity to terminate these ties”, – Oleksandr Sagan says.

In addition, Sagan claims that the UOC allegedly fulfills the terms of a certain agreement with Russian structures. That is why it is necessary to adopt a bill to ban the Church.

“The branch in Ukraine must fulfill all contracts. Therefore, we demand this break so that there is no reason to fulfill them. After all, the ban of the UOC mp is a Russian narrative, which for some reason is used by deputies and officials”, – summarized Sagan.