The ROC stated that it was necessary to create conditions for Donbas to identify as “one people” with Russia.
This was stated on June 28 by the head of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with the Public and Mass Media of the ROC, Vladimir Legoida, who spoke at the international conference “Russia and Donbas: Prospects for Cooperation and Integration,” Religious Truth reports.
In his opinion, “the word ‘Russian’ has a special meaning for Donbas – Russian culture, Russian education, Russian science…”
“Our identification as one people is the main guarantee of unification, for which conditions must be created,” Legoida said.
According to the cleric, “scientific, cultural, and educational integration of Russia and Donbas” should take place “in the living space of Russian civilization.”
He claims that now “new opportunities” have opened up for “cooperation” between Russian and Donetsk universities.
Legoida stressed “the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in creating the unity of peoples and cultures, organizing their dialogue and harmonizing relations.”
