KDAiS Rector: Prohibition of religious groups typical of totalitarian regimes

KDAiS Rector, Archbishop Silvester (Stoychev). Photo: dialogtut.org

Rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary Archbishop Silvester said that banning religious organizations is typical only for authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. He wrote this in an article published on the DialogTut website.

According to him, banning the UOC by the state would be a blow to the democratic principles of Ukrainian society. The bishop is sure that it is impossible to allow "such a transformation" of the state.

KDAiS Rector noted that during the 30 years of independence of Ukraine, no one had resorted to a legal ban on the Church.

He reminded that Ukraine is a secular state and therefore all religious organizations must be equal.

"In Ukraine, there hasn’t been the practice of legislative ban on churches or religious organizations. During the 30 years of independence, different religious figures could have been put on trial for their crimes and punished legally. But this has never meant a ban on religious organizations themselves," the bishop wrote.

As reported, the Verkhovna Rada said that the UOC can be banned only by a court ruling.

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