Renovabis foundation head: Ban on UOC will hinder Ukraine's path to EU
Photo: Thomas Schwartz, General Director of Renovabis. Source: KNA, Dieter Mayr
The head of the German organization for aid to Eastern Europe, Pastor Professor Thomas Schwartz, calls for the protection of freedom of religion in Ukraine. According to the foundation's website, "Renovabis criticizes ongoing attempts in the Ukrainian parliament to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church" and warns of the consequences of passing the law to ban the UOC.
"You cannot punish an entire Church with all its believers as traitors to their Ukrainian homeland," he notes.
He believes that neither all hierarchs nor the entire Church community should be equated with Russian aggressors, even if individual cases of state treason by UOC representatives are confirmed and legally proven.
"Such a legislative step by the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, could also complicate the path to the European Union and would be a significant burden for coexistence in Ukrainian society," underscores Professor Schwartz.
The General Director of Renovabis considers the deliberate ban on an entire Church unjustified and counterproductive. In his opinion, it would also play into the hands of Russian military propaganda.
As previously reported by the UOJ, a member of the British Parliament also opposed the bill 8371.
Read also
Serbian Patriarch offers condolences over murder of Sviatohirsk Lavra monk
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church called Sviatohirsk Lavra a refuge for the displaced and urged that the monk’s violent death not be turned into anyone’s weapon.
“Never seen before”: Israel reports record number of Hasidim in Uman
According to an Israeli police representative, 52,000 pilgrims are currently in Uman – 10,000 more than last year. The city itself has a population of about 75,000.
UOC faithful hold prayer vigil outside Lavra for more than 1,000 days
For three and a half years, Orthodox Christians have continued praying for peace and for the preservation of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Zelensky congratulates Jews on Rosh Hashanah
Volodymyr Zelensky wished Jews peace and the triumph of good over evil.
Kyiv Theological Academy publishes book on Orthodoxy in 17th-century Ukraine
With the blessing of the UOC Primate, the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary has published a textbook marking the 430th anniversary of the birth of St. Petro Mohyla.
45,000 Hasidic pilgrims arrive in Uman
Around 45,000 Hasidic pilgrims have already arrived in Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah.