Politicians should not force the Church to adhere to the "party line," – political analyst

The head of the analytical center "Third Sector", political analyst Andrei Zolotarev condemned attempts by politicians to interfere in the affairs of the Church.

"Politicians and statesmen have no right to call the church leaders "on the carpet" and urge them to stick to the "general line of the Party and government." It smells bad and reminds Soviet times which the current government claims to be fighting with so zealously, – said Andrei Zolotarev. – In fact, the current government is a product of the Soviet system itself, which is supposedly abhorrent to them. "    

Commenting on today's statement by the President of Ukraine that the unity of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy today can only be provided by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the political scientist noted that it was the intervention of politicians in religious affairs that exacerbates the division.   

"In this case, the President thinks now is the right moment for the creation of a local church. There is some tension between the Moscow Patriarch Kirill and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. But in fact, even if hypothetically assume that Bartholomew will grant an autocephalous status to the Ukrainian Church, none of the problems will be solved, – said Andrei Zolotarev. – On the contrary, this would lead to their aggravation. And so, the less politicians will interfere in internal church affairs, the better. Petro Poroshenko seems to follow in the footsteps of Semen Petlura, who in his time by his decree announced the creation of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church. Nothing good came out of in the end. Render to God things that are God’s and to Caesar – Caesar’s. "

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