Ban on UOC removed from Parliamentary agenda in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) delivers a speech during the plenary session of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Parliament. Photo AFP, Ukraine Presidency
Eastern Europe
The Ukrainian Parliament will not consider the motion to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Sources told the Union of Orthodox Journalists on Friday that the draft failed to gain enough support to be passed.
The proposal in question aimed to ban religious organisations that had ties to the "aggressor country" by which Russia is meant. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church still belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate on paper, even though the denomination has attempted several times to distance itself from Patriarch Kirill, who openly supports the war.
Constitution
A ban on the UOC would be a very controversial thing. Earlier, MP Artem Dmytruk from the People's Party called upon his colleagues to vote against the law that "infringed on the rights of believers." That is reported by SPHZ.
According to him, the adoption of the law that restricted the rights of people regarding their religion is "unacceptable." He pointed out that the right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the Ukrainian Constitution.
Dmytruk was supported by other MPs who argued that this law would threaten the unity of Ukraine, which is so necessary for the victory over Russia.
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