Law Dept: There’s a risk that UOC believers won’t be able to serve in the army

Priest of the UOC with the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Photo: ukraine2day.com

Archpriest Alexander Bakhov, head of the Legal Department of the UOC, said that the forced renaming of the Church is illegal, but commented on the possibility of applying the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" in relation to the canonical Church. He spoke about this during the press conference “Results of the UOC in 2022”, which takes place on December 29 in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

“I would like to draw attention to one essential detail: suppose that this law is applied to the UOC. This law contains a provision that prohibits clergy, preachers and other representatives of the UOC from accessing the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations. Therefore, the majority of citizens of Ukraine will not be able to fulfill their constitutional obligations in this case,” said the head of the Legal Department of the UOC.

As the UOJ reported, Archpriest Alexander emphasized that by outlawing the UOC, some politicians believe that they are at war with Russia, but in fact they are at war with the Ukrainian people.

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