Yelensky: Local authorities cannot ban the UOC, it is illegal
Head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience Viktor Yelensky. Photo: dw.com
Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, told DW that the actions of local authorities to ban the UOC in the regions are illegal.
According to him, the Verkhovna Rada is already considering a bill that will legally ban the activities of the Church.
“Local authorities cannot ban churches. The motives and aspirations are clear, but it is illegal. The government bill mentioned above, which is currently being considered in the Verkhovna Rada, is aimed precisely at making it impossible for the Moscow Patriarchate to manipulate the religious environment, which, in turn, is completely controlled by the Kremlin,” Yelensky said.
As reported by the UOJ, the representative of the President in the Verkhovna Rada said that a law would be passed in the near future to ban the UOC.
Read also
DESS: The number of communities joining OCU in 2024 is half of last year’s
Over a year, 232 communities of the UOC changed their jurisdiction.
Scale of internal damage to UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia shown online
The video allows viewers to assess the damage endured by the main Orthodox church of the UOC in Zaporizhzhia.
Ex-MP UOC protodeacon Novinsky declared suspicion of high treason
The former MP is accused of "ensuring that a significant part of Ukrainian society, who are believers of the UOC, remain under the direct influence of the leader of the ROC".
St Andrew’s icon survives under the rubble of UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia
The icon was painted by nuns of the St Nicholas Monastery in Patras (Greece) and consecrated on the relics of St Andrew the Apostle.
RF missile strike destroys St Andrew's Cathedral of UOC in Zaporizhzhia
The fragments damaged the roof of the building, dome, ceilings, cut windows and disfigured classrooms.
Media shows conditions in which persecuted communities of Volyn have to pray
After their churches were seized, UOC faithful are compelled to pray in poorly equipped facilities.