In a recent poll on public attitudes to churches, some 34% of Ukrainians said they are convinced that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) helps the most in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, only 6% of respondents chose the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (ROCinU), says the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Tyzhden recalls.
A religious scholar, Liudmyla Filipovych, PhD, head of the Department of Philosophy and History of Religion at the Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, commented on how aware the Orthodox Churches are of their social mission, in particular regarding of countering COVID-19. She pointed to a church that doesn’t follow the government’s recommendations regarding quarantine restrictions.
That church is the ROCinU, the expert noted.
“I go to various churches, and only in the ROCinU did I see thousands of processions, where no one wears masks and follow other health safety norms. I see this as disrespect for the state where this church operates. I know Islamic, Buddhist, Hare Krishna, and Jewish organizations, and they all follow quarantine requirements,” said the religious scholar.
According to Filipovych, the position of the ROCinU is due to their deliberate violation of the orders issued by Ukrainian authorities, while low consciousness level brings an impetus to this end.
When in the 21st century someone relies entirely on God and says, “God will protect me,” but at the same time makes no effort to help God do it, it sounds like the Dark Ages. It’s still necessary to take into account the epidemiological conditions, level, and scale of communication. We can explain why things like that happen. I think that this church is simply afraid of losing its influence in Ukraine, so they oppose themselves to government decisions. They find some theological explanations for what’s happening, but they’re unconvincing to me,” added the PhD.
Earlier, Liudmyla Filipovych noted that the number of OCU faithful will continue to increase if the church, as well as the society and state, pursues the right strategy.
