President Petro Poroshenko
The state guarantees the right of freedom of religion, but “”fingers fan” of the Moscow Patriarchate here to place” no longer, said Petro Poroshenko.
Autocephaly and Tomos is not so much a Church issue as it is a matter of Ukrainian statehood, independence and national security. This was stated by President Petro Poroshenko December 1, 2018 in his address on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of the referendum for the independence of Ukraine, the press service of the head of state.
The President believes that Ukrainian Orthodox Churches will no longer be able to “stigmatize, who have canonical and who is deprived of grace”.
“ROC is an integral part of the political system of the Russian Federation. You speak about Ukraine as about his alleged canonical territory is not an infringement on our territorial integrity?”, – said Petro Poroshenko.
According to him, “it would be a crime to look at it through his fingers. To change the situation was not a right but an obligation of the Ukrainian President”.
“Based on these considerations, several years ago we started negotiations with the Ecumenical Patriarch. The knot untangled complicated, but is the result. His Holiness and the Synod confirmed the illegality of the annexation of the Kyiv metropolis Moscow, carried out in the XVII century. They, like us, do not recognize any claims of the ROC in Ukraine. We will have our own independent from anyone the Church recognized by the world Orthodoxy,” – said Petro Poroshenko.
He explained: “the state guarantees the constitutional right of freedom of religion. Including those who want to stay in unity with the Russian Church… the Believers have to choose for themselves what Church they go to, no one to anything by force will not force”, – concluded the head of state.
Poroshenko also believes that the Kremlin is trying to ignite sectarian conflict in Ukraine and urged the public not to let this happen.
As reported by the SPM, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, prepared a draft Statute of the future national Church of Ukraine, but the final date of the Cathedral in his official statement did not name.
The Deputy head of the DECR of the UOC Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich explained that he considers strange that fact that yet the Church and its Charter are already doing. “This indicates a certain relationship, or lack of independence in this process, it is the Ukrainian side. Because all the Churches that previously received autocephaly themselves wrote their statutes. And then write for Ukraine and say how it should be,” said the priest.
Also, earlier 23 people’s deputies of Ukraine applied to the interior of a crime state officials against citizens and clergymen of the UOC. According to deputies, there is a deliberate violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens and the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Among these facts: surveillance, security service for bishops of the UOC, unlawful imprisonment in the checkpoint at the entrance to Ukraine, the creation of lists for the border service with the aim of exerting pressure, force entry into the premises of the diocesan administrations of the threat. Also, bishops and priests massively summoned to the SBU for interviews, conduct searches.