The international expert considers that the issue of creation of EPTS should be put to a referendum
The issue of creating national Church in Ukraine should be resolved not at the level of ambitions of politicians, but by popular vote, says international expert Knut Berg.
Participation in such a referendum must take all Orthodox believers. This opinion was expressed to the portal “ГолосUA” expert in the field of international relations, fellow of the Norwegian Human-Etisk Forbund, a law Professor Knut Anders Berg.
According to experts, in recent years the idea of unification of Orthodoxy in Ukraine turned into a PR individual politicians who have no moral or legal right to consultation and debate on a religious topic.
“In Ukraine the Church is separated from the state, however, the authorities are lobbying their own electoral programmes, part of which is a matter of faith, he stressed. – Local politicians in the literal sense of the word should be trying to distance itself from participation in Church battle”.
At the same time, K. Berg noted that the holding of such referendum, official Kiev has neither the desire nor the time.
As reported by PWC, formerly Deputy faction “Party of Revival” has offered to hold a referendum on autocephaly. The member of fraction Andrey Shipko before the vote in the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Autocephalous status from the podium turned to Peter Poroshenko and the people’s representatives and stated that the government needs to think twice before you interfere in Church Affairs.