Yelensky assures that UOC ban will not violate believers’ rights
Viktor Yelensky believes that the destruction of the UOC will not affect its believers in any way. Photo: "Suspilne"
The head of the State Ethnopolitics Service, Viktor Yelensky, assured on the air of Svoboda Live that the adoption of the bill banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would not affect the rights of its believers.
According to him, the law "pursues the goal to stop the influence on Ukrainians of the Moscow Patriarchate".
"We are talking about stopping this influence, about dismantling the structures of the Moscow Patriarchate. But in no case is it about people who previously belonged to this Church being unable to practice their faith and express their religious feelings in a dignified way," said Viktor Yelensky. Yelensky did not explain how exactly the parishioners of the UOC will be able to practice their faith if the authorities intend to close their churches (or forcibly transfer them to the OCU).
Read also
Relics of St. Tikhon Visit Belgorod, Will Continue Nationwide Procession in Russia
Faithful gather at St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral to venerate relics of Patriarch-Confessor.
New Hampshire Becomes 20th State to Ban All Gender Transition Procedures for Minors
Governor Ayotte signs laws prohibiting surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers for youth.
Media: Abp. of Cyprus blackmails Pat. Bartholomew with Onuphry mention
Fr. Evangelos Papanikolaou claims that Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus will commemorate Met. Onuphry of Kyiv (UOC) if Constantinople overturns controversial ruling on Met. Tychikos of Paphos.
WCC Demands 'Protection' for St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai
The WCC also passed resolutions on the Armenian Genocide and the terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus.
Russian Orthodox Church Provides Aid to Earthquake Victims
Volunteers from the Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka Diocese are providing food and aid at the Holy Trinity Cathedral’s humanitarian warehouse to support residents affected by a powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake in Kamchatka.
Serbian Patriarch Slams 'Undemocratic' Ruling Against Republika Srpska Leader
Patrarch Porfirije condemned the verdict as "unlawful and undemocratic." He is a vocal supporter of autonomy for Bosnian Serbs.