“This law will not change anything” - Drabinko on the ban of the UOC

Oleksandr Drabynko, a former bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who joined the OCU in 2018, claims that the adoption of Law 8371 banning the UOC will not have a significant impact on its existence. The representative of the OCU is convinced that the UOC will continue to act, and, in his opinion, the process of finding new canonical models for the canonical Church with the support of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is underway. He said this in a commentary to Glavkom.

“We have banned the Communist Party, but the Communists have not disappeared. As for me, the adoption of the law is a more populist step that will lead to nothing but legal restrictions. But, in principle, this is one of the steps that will help the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) not to dissociate itself from the Russian Orthodox Church, as was said at the Council in Feofaniya on May 27, 2022, but to withdraw from the Moscow Patriarchate. Then the first step was taken on this path, now the second one should be taken,” – Drabinko said.

Earlier, Oleksandr Drabinko said that he allowed for the possibility of a dialogue between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople with a view to further joining the OCU or some other newly created structure.