OCU has a diocese in Russia, but for some reason it is not checked, - Metropolitan Klyment

The head of the Synodal Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Klyment (Vecheria), noted the one-sidedness of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience in checking religious organizations for affiliation with Russia. The hierarch emphasized that, unlike the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the OCU has an entire diocese registered in Russia, but for some reason the State Service does not check the OCU for affiliation. He spoke about this in an interview with the Telegraph.

“I don’t understand why only the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC is checked. It seems to me that the OCU falls under this law first of all, because the OCU has not some amorphous spiritual ties with the aggressor state, but they have a whole diocese that is registered in the Russian Federation and information about it is in the relevant registers. The head of this diocese is periodically a member of the Holy Synod, that is, the governing body of the OCU. Therefore, I think that first of all, the activities of the OCU should be banned in accordance with this law. There is no need to look for any canonical grounds. There are all the registers that show that this organization has a direct connection with the aggressor state,” the bishop argues.

Earlier, we reported that the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience published a statement announcing the start of an inspection of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church.