“New information”: Head of the DESS officially postponed the date of severance of relations between the UOC and the Moscow Patriarchate

The head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, has officially postponed the deadline set by the state for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This time, the official stated that the UOC must sever ties with the Moscow Patriarchate not on August 18, but on August 24. He announced this in an interview with Ukrinform.

«The order is that the Kyiv Metropolis must ensure the withdrawal of the UOC from the Russian Orthodox Church. The order does not require the UOC to betray Orthodoxy, change any doctrinal provisions, change the language of worship, change the calendar, or join another Orthodox church. All that is required is to leave the Russian Orthodox Church and provide the relevant decisions of the statutory bodies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They received the order by mail on July 24. Thus, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has a month – until August 24,» — said the head of the DESS.

At the same time, Yelensky noted that if the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC submits a corresponding request, the DESS may add an additional 60 days to organize all the necessary procedures to help fulfill the state’s requirement. Otherwise, the State Service will go to court with a request to ban the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC.

“If within these 30 days (until August 24-25) the order is not fulfilled and there is no request for an additional 60 days, then the DESS will be able to go to court with a lawsuit to terminate the activities of the Kyiv Metropolis. This means that the Kyiv Metropolis will lose its legal entity status and lose its legal capacity,” — Yelensky said.