National Guard officials refute prohibition of the involvement of UOC priests in chaplain service

The National Guard of Ukraine declares that the activities of priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in chaplain service is not prohibited. This is stated in a message on the page of the National Guard on Facebook.

"The Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs approved the Regulations on the Service of the Military Clergy (Chaplain Service) in the National Guard of Ukraine, but, as some media report, the activities of the priests of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate are not prohibited," it was reported.

In the clarification, referring to Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, it is emphasized that "no normative legal act prohibits or restricts the members of the National Guard in the freedom of beliefs and religion, freedom to profess any religion or to profess no religion, to freely practice religious rites and ceremonial rituals, alone or collectively, and to pursue religious activities".

The National Guard officials explain that "it is a question of the fact that the priests of those religious organizations whose centers are in the territory of the aggressor country can be prevented from entering the military units".

Earlier, the deputy commander of the National Guard for the work with the military personnel Yaroslav Spodar stated that the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov had forbidden the involvement of the UOC priests in chaplain service in the National Guard.