“Metropolitan" Epiphany backs the adopted bill on renaming the UOC

Speech of the OCU head in the political talk show "The Right to Power"

“Primate” of the newly-established Orthodox Church of Ukraine “Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko believes that the adoption of draft law No. 5309 will not complicate, but, on the contrary, facilitate the situation that exists in Ukraine now. He stated this yesterday, on December 20, on the TV channel 1+1.

“Reality must reflect its essence,” said Dumenko. “Every Orthodox Ukrainian should understand which Church they go to. Why hide behind some signs that do not correspond to reality?"

He stressed that the adoption of the draft law on renaming the Ukrainian Orthodox Church into the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine will facilitate the transfer of Orthodox parishes from the Moscow Patriarchate to the Single Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

“There is no interference in church affairs, the state just streamlines its legislation, which is based on the security of the state,” said the OCU head. “This is about the spiritual security of the Ukrainian state, since the Church is a spiritual foundation that supports the Ukrainian state, the Ukrainian people.”

At the same time, he noted that in the process of granting autocephaly to other Local Churches, the state has always played an important role, "and now the Ukrainian state is also directly involved in the formation of the Single Orthodox Church."

Earlier, Ukrainian political analyst Ruslan Bortnik explained that the adoption of draft law No. 5309 directly violates the Constitution of Ukraine, openly demonstrates the government’s intervention in church affairs and causes another wave of conflicts in Ukrainian society.

As the UOJ reported, on December 20, 2018, accompanied by shouts “Glory to Ukraine!”, MPs of the Verkhovna Rada adopted the anti-church bill which obliges the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to change its name and become the “Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine”.

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