The UOC stated that there is no request for a religious war in Ukraine, and the seizure of their churches are “isolated cases”
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church today “is actually fighting for freedom of religion, resisting attempts by the state to interfere in its affairs and state control over the internal life of the Church.”
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Such an opinion in his interview with the Information Center of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said the head of the affairs of the UOC, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich).
“In our society today there is no request for a religious war. However, I get the impression that there are certain forces that want to form and support the demand for such a war, for such radicalism,” emphasized the manager of the affairs of the UOC.
Metropolitan Anthony is confident that in times of crisis religious legislation should not be changed. The head of the UOC also suggested that with their legislative initiatives, “certain forces within the state are trying to limit, place under strict control, or even ban the activities of the UOC.”
But according to Metropolitan Anthony, this is suicide for the state: “After all, the Church is a significant part of the people, and denying your own people the exercise of part of their fundamental rights, or issuing laws directed against your own citizens is counterproductive.”
According to Metropolitan Anthony, the culmination of conflicts over the churches of the UOC has passed, and such incidents are “isolated.”
“Seizures are still happening, but these are isolated cases. The situation is still difficult, but already quite stable. This is a problem of several dozen villages, mainly in Western Ukraine, no more. And for the sake of this, changing the religious legislation of the entire country, which will stir up the entire interfaith diversity of the state, will outrage the entire country, is unreasonable and inappropriate,” noted the manager of the affairs of the UOC.
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