Hegumeness Serafima: Nobody can drive UOC into ghetto

Hegumeness Serafima, abbess of the Holy Archangel Michael Convent of Odessa

Nobody will be able to drive the Ukrainian Orthodox Church into the ghetto, said Hegumeness Serafima, abbess of the Holy Archangel Michael Convent of Odessa, Chairman of the UOC Synodal Commission "Church and Culture" on the program "Evening on Dumska".

“As for changing our name, our title. I want to remind you that there have been cases in history when names were forcibly changed. It was in the Nazi concentration camps when a number was put on the person’s arm, which was his/her name. <...> Nothing can make us change our name and our identity. We are the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and millions of people think so. Nobody will be able to drive us into any ghetto,” noted Hegumeness Serafima.

As the UOJ reported, on December 20, the Verkhovna Rada adopted anti-church bill No. 5309, which obliges the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to change its name as the Church, "whose governing center is in the aggressor country", and become the "Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine". The head of the UOC Legal Department Protopriest Alexander Bakhov said that any attempts by state authorities to force the religious association (Church) to change its name are illegal and violate international law.

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