The head of the DESS stated that the state does not criticize the entire UOC for the violations of its individual representatives

The head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, says that collective responsibility doesn’t apply to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church when some of its reps break Ukrainian laws. The official stated that each case of “collaboration” or other forms of “cooperation with the Russian Federation” by representatives of the UOC is considered individually. The official’s words were reported by UNN.

«We are not talking about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s ties to the special services of the Russian Federation. If there are ties between individual Orthodox priests and the Russian special services, or with the occupiers, or facts of collaboration with the occupiers, then these cases are considered separately. And you know that we have several dozen such court cases where clergymen of this church were accused not only of ties, but also of collaboration with the occupiers. Some of these priests were exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war,» — the official said.

Earlier, OCU lobbyist and editor-in-chief of the website “Orthodox Ukraine” Yaroslava Mishchenko, also known as Lana Samokhvalova, expressed her joy that the state would soon ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Mishchenko noted that without the bishops, clergy, and believers of the UOC, the world “will definitely become better and safer.”