UOC to challenge in court the decision of MinCult on forced renaming

The issue of opening the administrative proceedings on the matter is under consideration

The respective lawsuit to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine was filed to the Kiev regional administrative court from the UOC Metropolis of Kiev, reports Ukrainian News.

“The District administrative court of Kiev received a lawsuit from the Kiev Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church vs. the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine to annul the order approving religious expert examination to establish a list of religious organizations (associations) subject to the norms of Part 7 and Part 8 of Art. 12 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations’," says the message of the Kiev district administrative court.

According to the lawsuit, the UOC requests that the actions of the Ministry of Culture, in particular posting on its official website and in the Uriadovy Kurier (Government’s Courier – Ed.) – the official publication of the central executive bodies – the list of religious organizations subject to the norms of Part 7 and Part 8 of the Law 12 “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”, which require to make appropriate amendments to their charters, be declared illegal.

Currently, the issue of opening the administrative proceedings in the case is under consideration.

Recall, on December 20, 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law obliging the UOC to indicate in its title that it belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church. On December 22, this law was signed by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. In turn, the UOC announced their intention to challenge the bill No 5309 in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

On January 18, 2019, 49 deputies from Oppoblok (Opposition Bloc – Ed.) appealed to the Constitutional Court to declare non-compliant with the Constitution of the Law “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations’”. According to the MPs, this law also violates Article 35 of the Constitution and the provisions of the Law on Freedom of Conscience, which guarantees non-interference of the state in the affairs of the Church, in particular, the right of communities to freely choose and change religious centers both in Ukraine and abroad.

The Ministry of Culture considers the execution of the norms of the law on the renaming of religious organizatios to be a “test” for the UOC to consciously obey or disobey the law.

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