In Rivne region, deputies pledge to campaign “for transition to OCU”

Deputies of the Rivne Regional Council pledged to campaign among their constituents in order to persuade them to join the OCU. The deputies assumed these responsibilities during an extraordinary session of the regional council on August 26, 2024. The joint document was signed by representatives of the Batkivshchyna, EU, Servant of the People, For the Future, Strength and Honor, and Radical Party parties. This was reported by the regional publication “News of Rivne and the Region”.

“We will send our appeal to every religious community of the UOC with a request to get rid of Moscow’s influence. As for our municipal institutions, we have facilities that are used by the UOC. As soon as the law comes into force, we will go to court to terminate this right of use,” — said the head of the Rivne Regional State Administration, Andriy Karaush.

The head of the Rivne Diocese of the OCU, Hilarion Protsyk, who also participated in the meeting of the Rivne Regional State Administration, said that it is extremely important that the transition of the UOC communities to the OCU also takes place with the participation of priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, I have several times appealed to the faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate to call for dialogue and unification. My call resulted in the process of transition of the MP communities to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. And this process is still ongoing. It may be slow at times, but slowly the communities are moving. Therefore, I reiterate my call for unification and look forward to the communities led by their priests moving to the OCU with great joy. It is very good when a community moves with its priest, because their church traditions are preserved. We should add that no one forces communities to immediately switch to the Ukrainian language of service, because it is sometimes difficult. I know that communities are artificially frightened, as if there is some kind of punishment procedure. However, this is not the case. Therefore, I will welcome all the communities of the Moscow Patriarchate with open arms,” — said Protsyk.

Earlier, the Diocese of Rivne of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church published a response to the appeal of the deputies of the Rivne Regional State Administration demanding to comply with the provisions of Law No. 8371 and join the OCU. The diocese is convinced that the deputies are inciting religious hatred in the region and spreading manipulations about the faith and teachings of the Church.