“It is best for them to unite with the OCU": MP Poturaev tells what is expected from UOC after the ban

Ukrainian MP and chairman of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Nikita Poturaev explained the nine-month period that will be allocated to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church if Bill 8371 is passed. Poturaev said that it is best for the Church to decide on joining the OCU during this time, but if this does not happen, then the UOC should undergo a procedure of “real severance” of ties with Moscow. He said this in a commentary to Ukrinform.

“After the adoption of this law, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which says that it has severed relations with the Moscow Patriarchate, which in fact has many reasons to doubt, will nevertheless begin the process of real and final separation from Moscow. And it would be better, of course, if the process of final separation from Moscow was followed by the process of unification with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This will take some time, indeed. The law says that it comes into force a month after it is signed. This is due to certain procedural peculiarities when such an important and politically complex bill comes into force. It also gives three months (and this is the minimum period, because in other cases we usually prescribe six months) for the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to develop regulations for this law. This includes, among other things, provisions on the formation of the commission, which should be independent of the executive branch and which will conduct research on the existence of ties, affiliation with Moscow or research on the facts of the spread of the Russian world ideology,” – the MP explained.

The MP added that four months from the moment the law is adopted will be spent on its entry into force and the development of regulations. Further, if a religious organization is found to be affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, it will have two months to appeal such a decision in court.

“So, in 4 months, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (SESF) will be able to start forming a commission. This will also take some time. Then the commission will conduct a study, which will take another 2 months, that is, 6 months in total. And then, if a violation is found, the SESF will issue an order and have 2 months to fulfill it, taking into account the administrative appeal procedure,” – Poturaev said.

Earlier, we reported that the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, joined the commentary on the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by adopting a bill (No. 8371) in the Verkhovna Rada. Yermak stated that it was necessary to rid the Church of “Moscow’s influence.”