The head of the DESS claims that the state will not close parishes of the UOC after the ban on the Kyiv Metropolis

The head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, says that after the court ban on the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC, the state won’t limit the activities of the parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The official claims that after the ban on the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC, the parishes of the Church will be able to operate autonomously. He spoke about this during a briefing at the Ukrainian Media Center.

«Even after the court ruling, this does not mean that all parishes and communities belonging to the UOC (MP) will be closed. The Ukrainian state aims to ensure that the dismantling of the structures of the Russian Patriarchate is not accompanied by violations of human rights and people’s rights to profess their religious beliefs. The Ukrainian state does not interfere in prayer connections. The state only demands that the Ukrainian church withdraw from subordination to the Moscow Patriarch,» — he said.

Earlier, political scientist and head of the Center for Local Self-Government and Local Initiatives “Third Sector” Andriy Zolotaryov spoke about the possible risks that the Ukrainian government is not taking into account by banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to the political scientist, the UOC, which consists of millions of Ukrainian citizens, is not so harmless and, under the current circumstances, may well become a protest force.