Artem Dmytruk: OCU is an organization controlled from abroad

Artem Dmytruk on Ukrainian media airwaves talked about the differences between the UOC and the OCU. Photo: NL video screenshot

MP Artem Dmytruk reminded on NL air that unlike the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is absolutely independent in its governance, the OCU makes decisions at the behest of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The par;iamentarian emphasized that all decisions regarding the life of the UOC are made in Kyiv at its Holy Synod under the leadership of His Beatitude Onuphry.

"On the contrary, the OCU (the state church or organization of Ukraine, as I call it) makes decisions exclusively at the behest of Constantinople, that is, Turkey. They cannot make independent decisions," Dmytruk noted.

The politician posed the question of which Church the country needs – an independent one or one controlled from abroad.

"We need to decide: do we need our truly independent, canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, or do we need a political (or it will be a public) organization?"

As reported by the UOJ, today MPs of the "Servant of the People" party will discuss bill 8371.

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