Cabinet appoints Viktor Yelensky as head of State Ethnopolitics Service
Viktor Yelensky meeting with DESS staff. Photo: dess.gov.ua
On December 19, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved Viktor Yelensky as the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), according to a report on the agency's official website.
Introducing the new head to the DESS staff, Cabinet Minister Oleg Nemchinov emphasized that the President and the government pay special attention to state policy in the field of religion, considering its importance in the context of Ukraine’s European integration.
Viktor Yelensky congratulated the DESS employees and expressed hope for fruitful cooperation.
The new DESS head is a religious scholar, publicist, and politician, holding a Doctor of Philosophy degree and having served as a Member of Parliament in Ukraine’s VIII convocation.
Reminder: On December 6, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed the previous DESS head, Olena Bohdan, and elevated the status of the agency, placing it directly under the Cabinet's authority.
As previously reported by the UOJ, media sources have described the newly appointed head of DESS as an active opponent of the UOC.
Read also
Hollywood Catholic actors remind of the spiritual meaning of Great Lent
Mark Wahlberg i Jonathan Roumie recorded a video message calling for prayer at the beginning of Great Lent.
MP Huz discusses seizure of UOC monastery in Myltsi with Volyn RMA head
Huz demanded that the authorities "resolve the situation" with the St. Nicholas Monastery of the Volodymyr-Volynsky Eparchy of the UOC.
Lviv authorities to allocate UAH 300,000 for UGCC church damaged by shelling
The Lviv City Council will finance the restoration of stained glass windows of the Uniate church after damage sustained as a result of a missile strike.
Yelets Icon of Mother of God venerated in ancient monastery of Chernihiv
Metropolitan Clement celebrated the Liturgy at the Yelets Monastery of Chernihiv on the day of veneration of the monastery's main shrine.
In Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, OCU supporters convert seized church into warehouse
In the Cherkasy region, Dumenko's supporters set up a clothing warehouse in the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which previously belonged to the UOC.
Ukraine should allow same-sex marriages for EU accession, European Commission
Brussels has stated that it expects Kyiv to adopt a law on legal recognition of homosexual unions.