Religious Scholar: The UOC May Ignore the Order, the State Must Be Ready for Decisive Action

Ukrainian religious scholar, OCU lobbyist, and head of the Department of Philosophy and Pedagogy at the National Transport University, Iryna Bohachevska, stated that Ukraine must be prepared to take more decisive steps if the Ukrainian Orthodox Church refuses to voluntarily comply with the government Order to «cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.» This was reported by Telegraf.

«Let’s simulate this situation. Let’s say they ignore it again. Then the state must be ready for more radical actions. The question is, will those radical actions happen? But undoubtedly, it has to take place in Kyiv,» she noted.

According to Bohachevska, the recent wave of drone attacks makes it difficult to organize large public demonstrations in support of the Church.

«We see how Kyiv has been living in recent months, during this escalation of drone attacks. This means that in the event of radical state action, the UOC is unlikely to gather its supporters for mass protests. It’s simply impossible, given the situation in Kyiv,» she said.

At the same time, she expressed doubt that the Church would comply voluntarily.

«They will either ignore it or again delay implementation by pursuing alternative legal steps. I don’t really believe they will respond to this ultimatum — let’s call it capitulation. But who knows,» Bohachevska added.

She also drew attention to the upcoming Day of the Baptism of Rus, which UOC faithful will celebrate on July 28. In her view, this could serve as a test of the Church’s ability to mobilize its supporters.

«We’ll see then how many people they can bring together. By the way, it’s possible that during this period we’ll see a certain reduction or pause in Russian attacks on Kyiv — precisely to give the UOC an opportunity to act,» she suggested.

Bohachevska also previously stated that revoking the citizenship of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would trigger a negative reaction from the international community. According to her, Ukraine would have to explain its actions against the UOC, as the nature of the state-church conflict is not understood in the U.S. and Europe.