VR MP: We’ll pass two laws at once to ban ROC and simplify transfers to OCU
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Mykyta Poturaev. Photo: Ukrinform
Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Servant of the People faction, chairman of the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and information policy Mykyta Poturaev said that MPs plan to simultaneously vote for bill No. 8221 on banning the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), its branches and organizations in Ukraine and for draft law No. 8262 on improving the legal regulation of the activities of religious organizations, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
The MP explained that the draft law No. 8262 is aimed at simplifying the transitions from the UOC to the OCU. This document was developed before the war, therefore, in the current wording, the following definition was added to it: “the state recognizes the right of the religious administration to be subordinate in canonical and organizational matters to any religious centers operating in Ukraine and abroad, except for foreign religious organizations whose activities are prohibited on the territory Ukraine in accordance with the Law.
“In order for it to work effectively at these moments (the law that concerns transitions), Mykola Kniazhytsky and his colleagues developed another bill (No. 8221), which prohibits the activities of the ROC in our country. We hope that they will go as a set (to the voting hall). We will immediately kill two birds with one stone: we will put an end to the existence of the ROC and organizations that continue to be affiliated with it in any way, and we will simplify the transitions,” Mykyta Poturaev emphasized.
As the UOJ reported, on December 1, 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky announced in his video message that the National Security and Defense Council decided to submit to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration "a bill on the impossibility of activities in Ukraine of religious organizations, which are affiliated with centers of influence in the Russian Federation."
Read also
Priests and laity of Rivne Eparchy donate blood for children with cancer
In Rivne, the UOC clergy and laity have donated blood for children undergoing treatment for cancer.
Kyiv seminary students meet with People’s Artist Larisa Kadochnikova
Students of Kyiv’s theological schools spoke with the legend of Ukrainian cinema, who shared her memories of filming "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors".
Bancheny Monastery reports provocation
The UOC monastery in Bancheny has reported a provocation by unidentified individuals.
Romanian Church to hold joint prayer for peace in Ukraine
On the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine, special prayers for an end to the hostility will be offered in all churches of the Romanian Patriarchate, both in the country and abroad.
Armenian bishops call on authorities to stop Church persecution
At a meeting in Austria, hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church reaffirmed their faithfulness to Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians and called on the authorities to stop the persecution of the clergy.
Italian media: Ukrainian authorities persecute the country’s largest confession
The Italian outlet L’Identità reported on mass searches, the arrests of clergy, and the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which it describes as the largest Church in Ukraine.