The UOC demands to close the criminal case against the priests of the Zaporozhye diocese
The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church expressed concern about the opening of criminal proceedings by the prosecutor's office of the Zaporozhye region against the priests of the local diocese of the UOC, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This is stated in the message of the Information and Educational Department of the UOC.
According to the UOC, the open criminal case contains signs of persecution on religious grounds and is of a political nature, aiming to interfere in the internal affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“Such actions introduce a new scheme in the form of criminal prosecution of a religious community for the fact that in its activities it is guided by sacred canons and rules, according to which the Church does not meet the needs of people of other religious communities,” says a message on the church website.
The UOC draws attention to the fact that, in accordance with international law, the state does not have the right to violate the autonomy of a religious community or interfere in any way in its internal affairs. The religious community independently determines the order and method of performing or not performing rituals over persons from other religious communities.
The Synod of the UOC believes that this criminal proceeding should be terminated, since representatives of the Zaporozhye diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church acted in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine and on the basis of the canons of the Orthodox Church.
“Based on the canons of the Holy Orthodox Church, the governing body of the UOC confirmed that Church Sacraments and rituals can be performed exclusively on members of the Church. And membership in the Church is obtained by freely accepting the Sacrament of Baptism,” the message says.
Let us remind you that the following information appeared on the website of the Zaporozhye region prosecutor’s office:
“... 11.01.2018/3/161 Information on the signs of a criminal offense under Part XNUMX of Art. XNUMX of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the equality of citizens depending on their race, nationality, religious beliefs, disability and other grounds) regarding the commission by individual representatives of the Zaporozhye diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP), the NGO "Orthodox Union "Radomir" and others unidentified persons of deliberate actions aimed at inciting national, religious enmity and hatred, insulting the feelings of citizens in connection with their religious beliefs, leading to grave consequences in the form of clashes and riots in the Zaporozhye region and other regions of Ukraine.”
The basis for opening criminal proceedings, according to the prosecutor’s office, was that “representatives of the Zaporozhye diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate allow a selective approach to the implementation of religious rites, preferring those persons who underwent baptismal rites in the UOC-MP, thereby offending the feelings of citizens in connection with with their religious beliefs."
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