"It will not be easy": MP Pavlenko on the process of banning the UOC

Rostyslav Pavlenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament from the European Solidarity party and one of the ideologues of the Tomos of the OCU, said that it would not be easy for the state to implement Law No. 3894, which bans the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Pavlenko said that the UOC allegedly expects that the upcoming Russian-Ukrainian peace talks will solve the problem of the ban, so the Church needs to act quickly and decisively. He wrote about this on his Facebook account.

“Both Putin and his henchmen have repeatedly emphasized that the interests of the Russian Church in Ukraine are paramount. Moreover, the rejection of the Russian church by Ukrainian society is a temptation for the KGB to use the church factor to project internal conflict in Ukraine after the war. This is a challenge for those who will lead the negotiations (if they take place). It is also a challenge for the executive branch to implement the law on the protection of the constitutional order in the field of religious organizations. More precisely, the “law banning the activities of the Russian Church in Ukraine.” It is necessary to find an answer to the “holy communion” of the UOC – when at all levels a disguised structural unit of the Russian Orthodox Church does not want to unite with the OCU at the organizational level and prevents parishes from joining the OCU at the grassroots level,” – the MP wrote.

Pavlenko added that the state should intensify the fight against the UOC to complete this process faster. He is dissatisfied with the fact that the relevant institutions cannot finally evict the UOC from the Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochayiv Lavras, and therefore called on not only the government but also society to fight the Church.

“Five months remain before the full implementation of the law. Framework bylaws are being developed. However, it just won’t happen: the refusal of the mayor to allow the ministerial commission to enter the Pochayiv Lavra is a vivid example. So is the sluggish process of eviction of the MPs from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Both the state and society must be ready to act. And now we need systematic explanatory work. In particular, about the harm and futility of “holy weddedness,” – Pavlenko added.

Earlier, Rostislav Pavlenko stated that he was disappointed that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was not afraid of the prohibitive laws and did not enter into a dialogue on unification with the OCU. In his opinion, the UOC expects that “someone from the United States” will be able to help the Church in the current situation.