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OCU Cleric: No Evidence of Moscow Ties Makes UOC Ban Difficult
A cleric of the OCU acknowledged that the lack of tangible evidence connecting UOC parishes to Russia complicates efforts to ban the Church.
KYIV — An Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) cleric has acknowledged that Ukrainian authorities face difficulties banning the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) because there is no tangible evidence demonstrating that its individual parishes cooperate with Russia.
OCU cleric Ruslan Usmedynskyi made the remarks during an appearance on Ukrainian comedian Dmytro Tiutiun’s "Neseriozna Rozmova" program. He said that accusations against individual UOC parishes would require authorities to provide “tangible, real evidence” of cooperation with Russia, but claimed such evidence is difficult to find.
As reported by UOJ-Ukraine, Usmedynskyi nevertheless argued that the UOC should simply be banned, even while acknowledging the evidentiary problem. He suggested that authorities establish a separate body with the power to make final decisions on whether religious organizations should be shut down, without further discussion or appeal.
He also said that the existing prohibition on religious organizations cooperating with Russia does not easily resolve the issue because, in his view, authorities cannot prove such cooperation merely because clergy or parishioners pray for Patr. Kirill.
During a rapid-fire segment on the show, Usmedynskyi chose banning the "UOC-MP" and physically reprimanding its supporters over simply banning the "UOC-MP" alone.
Previously, the UOJ reported that the Pochaiv Lavra called the faithful to prayer ahead of a court hearing.
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