The Bishop of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya) of Chernihiv and Nizhyn, supported the initiative put forward by Ukrainian lawmakers to terminate operations in Ukraine of the UOC (MP). The OCU bishop noted that religious organizations should not be an instrument of Kremlin’s aggression, and the fact that the UOC (MP) was used in the war against Ukraine “is evidenced by the ROC clergy themselves.”
He stated this in a comment to Glavkom.
“My position is that in the same way that the state protects its territory, information space, economy, transport or anything else, the state should protect from Russian aggression our religious space,” Archbishop Yevstratiy explained.
In addition, Yevstratiy said that it was logical to impose sanctions on the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church – as well as on Russian oligarchs, who are also not formally officials, but helped Vladimir Putin build the regime that attacked Ukraine.
“The head of the Russian Church (Patriarch Cyril – ed.), who publicly blesses the Russian army for aggression against a sovereign state, has not been sanctioned so far!” said the OCU spokesman.
In addition, imposing sanctions on Cyril could help ban the UOC-MP, given the law on collaborationism.
“If he (Cyrill – ed.) is sanctioned, then there should be no administrative interaction between him and the UOC-MP as part of the ROC. Such interaction will fall under the norms of collaborative activity,” Bishop Yevstratiy explained.
On April 7, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kirovohrad region called for prayers for Russian soldiers. The UOC-MP also threatened the authorities to create a “religious front” if a law banning the Moscow Patriarchate is passed.
