Bohdan: UOC's withdrawal from Lavra will not strengthen national security

Olena Bogdan. Photo: dialogtut.org

The former head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Olena Bohdan, has said that since the political course for "spiritual independence" was proclaimed on December 1, many UOC believers naturally feel betrayed by their state. She wrote about this in an article posted on the website Dialogtut.

"True spiritual independence has a very different face – more honest, thoughtful and human," she writes.

Olena Bohdan notes that loud headlines full of hatred for the UOC do not reflect the complex uncomfortable truth of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, but create dangerous illusions that sink our society deeper into absurdity and pose serious risks in the long term. This includes risks to national security.

Commenting on the government's order to vacate the territory of the Kyiv Cave Monastery until March 29, Olena Bohdan said that if the UOC is forced to change its location, the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy will not come and the national security of Ukraine will not be strengthened.

As reported, the former head of the State Ethnopolitics Committee earlier warned that the church issue in Ukraine could turn into a tragedy.

 

Read also

U.S. House of Representatives passes ban on sex-change surgeries for minors

The lower house of Congress supported an initiative limiting medical interventions that could have irreversible consequences for the health of minors.

Armenian Church to appeal to international bodies over government pressure

The decision was made by the Supreme Spiritual Council in Etchmiadzin against the backdrop of criminal cases, pressure on the clergy, and the state's attempts to interfere in church life.

Pashinyan's supporters attempt to storm Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia

The confrontation around the Armenian Apostolic Church intensified after rebellious hierarchs called for the Catholicos's resignation and attempted to exert forceful pressure in Etchmiadzin.

Persecuted community of Maliatyntsi celebrates first patronal feast after seizure

In Bukovyna, the faithful of the St. Nicholas community in the village of Maliatyntsi celebrated the Feast Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia for the first time after the church seizure.

European authorities downplay scale of Christian persecution, report says

Human rights defenders reported an increase in attacks on believers in the EU and pointed out that official statistics do not reflect the real level of anti-Christian hostility.

Mukachevo Eparchy bishops congratulate orphaned children on St Nicholas Day

Metropolitan Theodore and Bishop Hilarion visited the “New Family” children’s shelter in Uzhhorod.