The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has filed a complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor General against Petro Poroshenko

A representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, lawyer and archpriest of the UOC Nikita Chekman, said that on 22.07.2024, a report was sent to the Office of the Prosecutor General about the commission of a criminal offense by MP and former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. The UOC claims that Poroshenko has repeatedly and publicly incited religious hatred and enmity against the clergy and laity of the Church. Nikita Chekman wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

It is reported that this criminal offense was committed under the following circumstances: On July 15, 2024, at 15.49 pm, an article titled “Poroshenko prayed for the Victory of Ukraine in the Lavra and called for the ban of the FSB Moscow Church” was posted on the Internet on the page of the Vysokiy Zamok publication. In this publication, Poroshenko spoke negatively about the UOC, its clergy and laity, which is regarded by the Criminal Code as incitement to hatred on religious grounds.

“In this way, Petro Poroshenko expresses his commitment to the religious association of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, supports the decision to change the subordination of religious communities from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, humiliates the honor and dignity of citizens in connection with their religious beliefs in the form of slander and harassment, calls for incitement to religious hatred and enmity, compares the Church with law enforcement and special services of an enemy state, and incites religious hatred. Contrary to promoting the establishment of relations of mutual religious and ideological tolerance and respect between citizens who profess or do not profess a religion, between believers of different faiths and their religious organizations,” — writes Nikita Chekman.

The lawyer added that in this way the former president is sowing enmity in society, which does not threaten the interests of national security.

“These statements cause particular harm to religious organizations that are members of the religious association of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as they contribute to inciting religious hatred in Ukrainian society, and the disseminated false information directly threatens the national interests of the state,” — the archpriest added.

Earlier, it became known that the U.S. State Department is preparing to impose personal sanctions against Ukrainian MPs and officials who initiated the process of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by adopting the scandalous bill No. 8371. The list includes six Ukrainian top officials who are trying to ban the UOC the most.