Zelenskyy declares authorities will not engage in dialogue with Moscow-linked orthodox church: Time of those who sanctify terror is over
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that the Resilience Plan will include policies regarding churches and religious organisations.
Source: Zelenskyy’s presentation of Ukraine’s Internal Resilience Plan in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukranian Parliament) on 19 November
Details: Zelenskyy stated that the government plans to continue cooperating with religious communities, except for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).
The president emphasised that Ukraine maintains the "secular nature" of its state institutions but should further develop partnerships between the state and churches or religious communities.
One example of such collaboration is the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, established in 1996.
Quote: "Within this dialogue, we can determine which models of deeper cooperation can strengthen our state and all our people, our spiritual independence, and our social work in the Ukrainian state. Of course, this does not concern the Russian Orthodox Church. The time of those who sanctify terror is over."
Background:
- At the end of September 2024, Ukraine's Security Service announced charges against a clergyman of a monastery in Kyiv, which is part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), with a notice of suspicion. The reason is that the cleric justified Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- The latest sociological survey revealed that among 70% of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christians, and only 6% of them associate themselves with the UOC-MP.
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