Earlier, Mykola Kniazhytskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament from the European Solidarity party, confirmed that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the scandalous anti-church law No. 3894, aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was adopted, among other things, in order to take away churches from the UOC. Knyazhytsky believes that since not all settlements in Ukraine have churches of the OCU, people may not realize that their “priests have ties to Moscow.” Thus, the law banning the UOC is aimed at correcting this.
“The state does not require Orthodox Christians who are part of the Moscow Patriarchate to betray Orthodoxy,” Viktor Yelenskyy
The head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, said that severing ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which is required by anti-church law No. 3894, is not a betrayal of Orthodoxy. The official assured that after the clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church announce their break with the ROC, they will be able to continue to practice their faith as they see fit. He spoke about this in an interview with Ukrinform.
“The state does not require Orthodox Christians who are part of the Moscow Patriarchate to betray Orthodoxy or switch to the New Julian calendar, they can remain on any calendar, or change the liturgical language, they can perform services in any language — this is also not the state’s business. All that the state requires is to withdraw from a religious organization that is a participant in the war against Ukraine,” — Yelensky said.
At the same time, the official acknowledged that this requirement of the state should be declared legally and in fact. Yelenskyy expects that the bishops and priests of the UOC will send appropriate letters to the Moscow Patriarchate declaring their break with the ROC.
“The head of a religious organization that is officially part of the Moscow Patriarchate but does not want to be, simply makes a statement, sends a letter there, sends us a copy, and that’s it. This is enough for us, the order is fulfilled. Why go to court if the religious organization fulfills this order?”, — added the head of the State Service.
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