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21 December 2018, 14:05Ukrainian Orthodox Church sees no reason for name change
Kiev, December 21, Interfax - There are no legal grounds for changing the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as the bill passed by Ukraine's Verkhovnaya Rada on the names of religious organizations that have centers in Russia would require, Archbishop Kliment, an official with the UOC, said on Hromadske TV.
"It seems to me that this law has no relation to our Church, as it's not stated anywhere that we have relations, subordination, or governance with some foreign center where there's an aggressor state. Our Church has no reason to change its name under this law, because our administrative center is not located in an aggressor state. It probably applies to some other entity," he said.
On Thursday, the Verkhovnaya Rada adopted a bill obligating the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to indicate its belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church in its name. The bill, which would amend the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, was supported by 240 parliamentarians.
A religious organization included in the structure of a religious organization with a center in a state that has perpetrated military aggression against Ukraine and has temporarily occupied its territory would be obligated to fully state in its name the name of the organization of which it is a part and whose center is located outside Ukraine. The words "in Ukraine" could be added to the name. |
