Holy Synod of UOC requests authorities to renew the right to receive passports without chips

The introduction of biometric documents in Ukraine over the past few years has caused concern among a lot of believers in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is said in the appeal of the Holy Synod of the UOC to the President of Ukraine Peter Poroshenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Groisman and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrey Parubiy (Journal No. 16), reports the UOC Information and Education Department of the UOC.

"The Holy Synod and the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church receive numerous appeals from citizens of Ukraine, in which they express their deep concern about this.

The laws of a democratic state are called upon to serve a person, to protect his rights and freedoms, but in no case to destroy the supreme value of man – God-granted freedom.

In their numerous appeals, the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church express their reluctance to receive a passport in the form of a card containing a contactless electronic medium, according to their religious beliefs.

Therefore, the Church cannot be indifferent to the will of its believers and considers inadmissible any forms of compelling citizens to use electronic identifiers, automated media of collecting, processing and recording personal data, as this leads to violation of basic human rights.

In addition, there are no guarantees that the electronic system of human control will not be used to influence a person for the purpose of spiritual, political or economic manipulation. Therefore, we believe that such technologies and means used in the production of the passport of a citizen of Ukraine should not be non-alternative, but provide for the possibility of using traditional methods of personal identification, especially since such practice exists in many countries.

Supporting the will of the multi-million flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we ask you to restore the possibility of obtaining a passport of a citizen of Ukraine that does not contain a contactless electronic medium and provide an alternative when accepting any identifiers that provide for the choice of traditional methods of identity verification," says the Appeal.

On October 26, 2016, the Cabinet of Ministers amended Resolution No. 302 dated March 25, 2015, “On Approving the Blank Form, Technical Specification and Procedure for Drawing up, Issuance, Reissue, Sending, Withdrawal, Return to the State, Disposal of a Passport of a Citizen of Ukraine”, by which the registration of the passport of a citizen of Ukraine which does not contain a contactless electronic medium (chip) ceases from November 1, 2016.