We will remind you that earlier, the head of the State Historical and Architectural Reserve “Ancient Kyiv” (part of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, — ed.) Roman Malenkov stated that in the near future, the “reserve” will begin work on the expropriation of the Pokrovsky and Florovsky monasteries of the UOC, as well as the Holy Cross and Ilyinsky churches, which are architectural monuments. Malenkov claims that it will be possible to take these religious buildings away from the Church thanks to a decision by the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, which “found” signs of the UOC’s affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate.
“In 5-10 years”: MP talks about how long it'll take to totally ban the UOC
Ukrainian MP Yulia Klymenko has stated that it will take the state between five and ten years to completely ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The MP claims that the anti-church initiatives adopted so far are insufficient, and therefore the process of completely banning the UOC will be a long one. The parliamentarian’s words were reported by the publication Glavkom.
“I think this turmoil will continue for many years. The law provides for a judicial procedure, and it will take time—perhaps years. When we passed this law, I clearly understood that it would not change the situation for another 5-10 years. There are two parallel processes taking place. The first is the voluntary transition of communities of the UOC-MP to other denominations. This process is difficult, with scandals, but it is moving forward. The second is the forced separation of the Ukrainian church from the Russian church. The law on this matter sets out clear bureaucratic procedures. The consideration of one prescription for one case will take at least two years. We do not expect the Kyiv Metropolis to surrender voluntarily; they will drag it out for years,” – Klymenko said.
The deputy also noted that the purpose of banning the UOC is also the expropriation of church property. She is convinced that the UOC will fight for religious buildings in court, which will delay the ban on the Church.
“In this matter, much depends on state property, which the Russian Church effectively occupied at one time and which is being taken away from it by this law. This occupation lasted more than 30 years and, unfortunately, the reverse process will also take a long time,” – she added.
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