Expert: Ban on the UOC makes unity in Ukraine impossible

Oleksandr Shelest and Pavel Schelin. Photo: SHELEST YouTube channel's screenshot

Political expert, philosopher, and blogger Pavlo Shchelin believes that the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) will make unity in Ukraine impossible. He expressed this opinion during a live interview with Oleksandr Shelest.

In his view, "the Ukrainian authorities clearly understand that any genuine sacred center that unites Ukrainians in the current state of ruin poses a threat to them, which is why they are destroying it."

Shchelin is convinced that "the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a mass institution around which Ukrainian society could potentially unite in the context of the previous ruin."

For this reason, Pavlo Shchelin claims that "the authorities are preemptively eliminating competitors." The UOC clergy "could do anything," but it wouldn't change the situation because "they (the UOC) are being destroyed as a political competitor."

Earlier, the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported that on August 20, MPs are expected to vote on Bill 8371, which bans the UOC.

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