In Kyiv they hope for the abolition of recognition of the OCU by the Greek Church
It will not be easy to appeal in court the decision of the Greek Church to recognize Ukrainian autocephaly, but the situation will change when the illegality of the creation of the so-called OCU is proven, first of all, in Kyiv.
Vasily Anisimov, press secretary of the UOC-MP, stated this to PolitNavigator, commenting on the upcoming trial in Greece to cancel the recognition of the OCU.
“Thank God the Greeks do this. But we must also understand that in the Greek Church the patriarch is Bartholomew. Moreover, it is a state church. And the Greek state is on the side of Bartholomew. Therefore, it is very difficult to fight there,” Anisimov said.
In his opinion, efforts to abolish the legal recognition of the OCU should be made in Kyiv, where “the state intervened, people were kicked out of churches, property was taken away.”
“It is very important for us, if we really want to live in a rule of law state, for the truth to triumph here, with us. So that we have a legal consciousness here.
In this “tomos” story, everything is built on lawlessness. Moreover, this is lawlessness not only in the sense of church law, but also according to the legislation of Ukraine. For example, our Constitution not only separates church and state, it generally prohibits government interference in church affairs. And on what basis, in particular, did the Verkhovna Rada turn to the head of a foreign church?
Therefore, it is important that not only the Greeks take some steps towards restoring justice towards us, but also that we here, in Ukraine, living in a rule of law state, do this. If you have lawlessness at home, you don’t have to wait for this lawlessness to be corrected somewhere in another country. Then the Greeks will have reasons to do something,” Anisimov said.
As reported, the Greek non-governmental organization Panhellenic Orthodox Union intends to appeal to the State Council of Greece (performing the function of the Supreme Court) to appeal the decision of the Greek Church to recognize Ukrainian autocephaly.
The Union demands that the decision of the Bishops' Council of the Orthodox Church, adopted on October 12, 2019, be cancelled.
According to NGO representatives, the Council acted without regard to Greek laws. In particular, Article 19 of Decree No. 1/1977 (on the procedures of the Council of Bishops of the Church of Greece).
The violation lies in the fact that during this council there was no voting (secret or open) and the decision was not supported by a majority of votes (2/3), as required by law. At the same time, despite the fact that the minutes of the meeting were certified by the Council, the written decision has not yet been published.
If the State Council declares the bishops' decision illegal, Greece's support for the autocephaly of the OCU may be reconsidered. According to the Union, the appeal hearing is scheduled to take place on March 6, 2020.
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