Religious scholar: After the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC, DESS will take on other dioceses and parishes

Religious scholar and OCU lobbyist Oleksandr Brodetsky spoke about what awaits other dioceses and religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience sends the Kyiv Metropolis a directive to remove signs of affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate. The religious scholar is convinced that DESS will not examine the statutory documents of other religious communities of the Church, since each of them is legally connected with the Kyiv Metropolis and, as a result, is also affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church. He spoke about this in an interview with the publication Glavkom.

«Obviously, first of all, such an order (to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, ed.) will be presented to the Kyiv Metropolis, because there is simply no such legal entity as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And all other dioceses and parishes are already under the jurisdiction of the Kyiv Metropolis. The State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience has now created such a platform for itself so that the order, which will initially be issued to the Kyiv Metropolis, can then be copied almost verbatim to all specific parishes, churches, and monasteries whose statutes state that their governing center is the metropolis,» — Brodetsky said.

The religious scholar suggested that the religious organizations of the UOC will fight for their rights, possibly even for 5-10 years. However, in his opinion, everything will change with the recognition of the OCU by other Local Churches, which, in his opinion, will be able to influence the position of the clergy and believers of the UOC towards the Ukrainian schism.

«I think that some actions will be initiated by, say, 10-20% of the parishes and dioceses that exist today in the UOC-MP. The rest will go to court, drag their feet, and at the same time continue their religious life – attending services either in the current churches or renting some buildings and adapting them for use as churches. And this will continue, in my estimation, for five, even ten years. A serious factor that could significantly change the situation would be the recognition of the OCU by other global Orthodox churches. This is because the main rhetoric of the UOC-MP in their sermons is brainwashing people that no one in the world recognizes the OCU,» — added the OCU lobbyist.