SBU and local authorities involved in transitions to OCU, says activist-"decolonizer"

Vadym Pozdniakov. Photo: Pozdniakov's Facebook

Activist-"decolonizer" Vadym Pozdniakov, head of the public organization "Decolonization. Ukraine", in an interview with the resource "Ґвара Медіа" openly spoke about the schemes of pressure on UOC communities with the aim of transferring them to the OCU.

According to him, there are "formal and informal means of influence" for transferring UOC churches to the jurisdiction of the OCU. Both the authorities and law enforcement agencies are involved in this process.

"I know that there are programs, formal and informal means of influence, on how to transfer churches to the OCU. Work is being done because there is political will. The SBU, regional administrations, community leadership, and police are involved to prevent incidents. Everything is being done and working," Pozdniakov stated.

The activist expressed dissatisfaction that in the Kharkiv region, in his opinion, the local authorities do not show sufficient "political will" for mass transitions. According to the Opendatabot resource, out of 298 UOC religious communities in the Kharkiv region, only two have formally joined the OCU.

Pozdniakov also noted that a significant portion of believers "do not really understand" church matters and will continue to attend the church regardless of its jurisdictional affiliation. "Transfer this church to the OCU - about 50 percent will continue to attend. And the devout believers will go to a distant church or better yet to Belgorod," he stated.

Vadym Pozdniakov is known as an active supporter of the so-called "decommunization" and "decolonization," within which he advocates for the renaming of streets, dismantling of monuments, and transferring UOC churches to the jurisdiction of the OCU.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the SBU and police conducted searches at the Pochaev Lavra.

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