Minister of Culture accuses the UOC of refusing to unite with the OCU

Oleksandr Tkachenko. Photo: slovoidilo.ua

On January 10, 2023, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko said that the UOC refused to have a dialogue with the OCU, which various structures, including the Ministry of Culture, have been trying to establish over the past 6-7 months. The official announced this on the air of the Freedom TV channel.

“The UOC deliberately withdrew from this dialogue,” Tkachenko stressed.

He said that an attempt was made to organize a round table in St. Sophia of Kyiv, but no further steps were taken.

The canonical Church, according to the minister, does not share the expectations of society. According to him, the entire Ukrainian society is now at war with Russia, and the UOC is not actively condemning this war and maintaining “the so-called spiritual relation with the Russian Orthodox Church”, which is confirmed by law enforcement investigations.

Therefore, the official believes that the UOC should be influenced "in the legislative field", as in the case of the Upper Lavra.

“Within the framework of (registered – Ed.) bills, in no case violating religious freedoms, but protecting Ukrainian citizens <…>, appropriate decisions will be made,” the minister said.

He also stressed that the strength of Ukraine lies in the unity of various religious organizations and ethnic communities.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that according to the leadership of the Lavra Reserve, the Ministry of Culture will decide which communities will be allowed to pray in the Lavra.

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