Metropolitan Hilarion: Attempts to forcefully rename the Ukrainian Orthodox Church result from an ambition to seize its church buildings

DECR Communication Service, 06.06.22.

In December 2018, the Verkhovna Rada passed the law No.2662-VIII which has not been repealed as yet, though suspended. It not only makes provisions for depriving the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of its name and for its forceful renaming, but also could give a boost for more active raider attacks on its church buildings.

It is against this background that the decisions taken by the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which declared its independence and self-governance, “were aimed, among other things, at protecting its property, because this law is intended not only to forcefully rename the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but also to re-register all its parishes under the new name,” Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchates Department for External Church Relations, said during “The Church and the World” program on Rossiya-24 TV channel on June 5.

“In the current situation, as the local authorities are actively putting pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and on certain parishes, each re-registration basically means that the authorities would force parishes and maybe even whole dioceses to move into schism. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is doing its very best to prevent it,” the hierarch underscored.

Metropolitan Hilarion illustrated his views by giving an example of schismatics’ behavior. As soon as they learned about the impending decision of the Council, they hastened to claim their "rights” to the Kiev Laura of the Caves and demanded that the state deliver possession of a part the Laura’s buildings to them.

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Metropolitan Hilarion: Attempts to forcefully rename the Ukrainian Orthodox Church result from an ambition to seize its church buildings

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons