Spokesperson for UOC: Law on renaming aimed at dividing Ukrainians

Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich. Photo: UOC Synodal Information Department

The renaming of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church into the ROC in Ukraine, envisaged by the anti-church law, was invented by propagandists during the presidency of Petro Poroshenko with the aim of dividing our people, said Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC, in the story of the Nash TV channel about the round table “Three years of attempts to forcibly rename the Ukrainian Orthodox Church: consequences, assessments, comments”.  

The UOC spokesperson recalled that the so-called Law on forced renaming was adopted on December 20, 2018, – when the OCU Tomos appeared. Moreover, the term "ROCU" itself does not exist in any of the legal or canonical documents.

“There is no such thing as the ROC in Ukraine in any documents, neither legal, nor canonical, nor in Ukraine, nor in Russia,” said Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich. “This phrase was invented by the propagandists of the Poroshenko era, including people who are opponents of our Church in the religious sphere. And it is aimed at dividing our people into the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’ Ukrainians."

As reported, the round table in the Lavra adopted an appeal to the authorities, in which it called for the urgent repeal of the anti-church law.

Read also

Sand for construction of Yermak’s residence brought from cemetery, MP says

MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that sand illegally removed from a cemetery in Ukrainka was used in the construction of the elite Dynasty cooperative in Kozyn.

Italian court recognizes family with three parents as legal

In Bari, the appellate court ordered authorities to register an adoption according to which a child is listed as having two "fathers" and one mother.

Archaeologists discover biblical Bethsaida on shore of Sea of Galilee

Researchers have discovered a first-century residential house beneath the apse of a Byzantine church and a mosaic inscription mentioning the Apostle Peter.

Israeli soldiers receive jail terms for mocking statue of the Virgin Mary

Those involved in the act of sacrilege in the village of Debel will spend several weeks behind bars for desecrating a statue of the Mother of God.

Serbian Church officially receives back land of 15th-century monastery

An agreement was signed in Belgrade transferring the territory of the ancient Vojlovica Monastery to the Banat Eparchy.

Pat Daniel comments on conflict between Phanar bishop and community in Turkey

The Bulgarian Primate believes that the hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate should not have forced the Bulgarian community in Edirne to serve in Greek.