Media: MPs receive calls from OCU hierarchs to support law banning UOC

Verkhovna Rada. Photo: rada.gov.ua

Hierarchs of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) are calling Members of Parliament, persistently asking them to support the adoption of draft law 8371, which effectively bans the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in its current version. This insider information from the Verkhovna Rada is being spread by media outlets close to the Dumenko structure.

It is reported that MPs from the Servant of the People faction, who wished to remain anonymous, shared that they received calls from bishops of various OCU dioceses asking them to sign a letter in support of bill No. 8371.

"They called and urged me to sign a letter in the Verkhovna Rada supporting bill 8371. They vowed to mobilize the flock for political support in my region if I signed," conveyed one of the MPs who received a call from OCU representatives, according to the publication.

According to the MPs, they refuse to sign the letter, citing that "the original idea of bill 8371 has been distorted, the text of the document for the second reading has been formed in such a way that it will not solve existing problems, but will only bring destruction to relations with partner countries. An additional obstacle is the opposition's use of this religious issue solely to achieve their own political interests, neglecting the interests of the state."

"I said I would sign the document if P. Poroshenko withdrew his signature. But I do not wish to participate in a document that has essentially been completely rewritten by his MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi. I do not intend to be a pawn in someone else's political game and harm the interests of the state," stated another MP who received a call from the OCU.

As the UOJ previously reported, a cleric of the OCU is urging people to light candles for the repose of Trump.

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