OCU wants to "decommunize" UOC churches
Oleksandr Drabinko (second from the left) and Georgiy Kovalenko (far right). Photo: dess.gov.ua
"Metropolitan" Oleksandr Drabinko and "priest" Georgiy Kovalenko stated that the temples of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church need to undergo "decommunization". The representatives of the OCU voiced their "idea" during a conference on the topic of "Religious Organizations during War: Examples of Unity and Risks to Sustainability," reports the DESS press service.
Georgiy Kovalenko mentioned that "religious communities that join the OCU face the fact that Russian imperial symbols remain in the church interiors". Therefore, the "priest" continued, the "decommunization process should affect both the interiors and the names of the churches".
Oleksandr Drabinko, who heads the OCU eparchy in the Kyiv region, expressed the opinion that the inclusion of UOC temples into the organization of Dumenko and their "decommunization" is "one of the most important tasks in the Kyiv region".
As previously reported, the First Deputy Head of the State Ethnopolitics Service (DESS), Viktor Voynalovych, stated at the same conference that there is a need for "spiritual decolonization of the Ukrainian space" in order to "liberate Ukraine from the influence of Russian Orthodox ideologies".
Earlier, the head of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko, stated that Ukrainians should renounce their saints in whose honour they were baptized if these saints have any connection to the ROC or Russia.
Read also
Odesa Seminary displays Iconography graduation works
For the first time at UOC seminaries, students presented and defended diploma projects in church fresco painting and manuscript restoration.
Patriarch Theophilos receives Athens medal for Gaza aid
Athens Mayor Haris Doukas highlighted Patriarch Theophilos’ role in peacebuilding efforts and the development of educational initiatives.
Military recruitment officers detain UOC priest in Khmelnytskyi Eparchy
Archpriest Volodymyr Sereda, a father of five and parish rector in Korchivka, was reportedly taken to Teofipol and sent for a military medical examination.
Israeli authorities plan to entrust Al-Aqsa security to religious Jewish activists
Police have begun recruiting religious Jews and far-right activists as part of efforts to strengthen Israeli control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.
Yelensky: Now churches oppose LGBT but will compromise for EU integration
Ukraine’s top official on religious affairs, Viktor Yelenskyi, said tensions over LGBT issues are inevitable, but churches may eventually compromise on LGBT-related issues as Ukraine advances toward EU membership.
Moldovan Church reports media attack on its primate
The Moldovan Orthodox Church said negative media coverage of Metropolitan Vladimir is the first stage of a broader campaign aimed at discrediting the Church and undermining its authority in society.