Not too many hear us, but we do not lose heart, – Primate of UOC

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine presented a report about the life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the present context at the Bishops’ Council, currently convened in Moscow.

"The relationship between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian state can be described as not simple," said His Beatitude Onufry. "As of today, there are twelve bills in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine concerning public morality and the activities of religious organizations. Among them, the following bills can be classified as positive: No. 6747 (regarding the right of a doctor to refuse abortion for reasons of conscience); No. 6696 (on the abolition of the requirements for mandatory re-registration of religious organizations as a condition for preserving non-profitability) and No. 6642 (on simplifying the registration of documents when registering religious organizations).

The Primate of the UOC noted that in addition to positive legislative initiatives, there are bills in the Verkhovna Rada that clearly violate the rights of believers of the UOC.

"The following bills should be described as negative: No. 4128 (regarding the change of their subordination by religious communities); No. 4511 (on the establishment of a special status for religious organizations) and No. 5309 (concerning the name of religious organizations within the structure of the religious organization whose governing center is located in a state recognized as the aggressor state), said His Beatitude. "These bills did not undergo public discussion and are discriminatory, because they substantially restrict the rights of religious organizations and provide for interference in their activities."

Also, the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine spoke about the peace-making efforts of the UOC.

"Unfortunately, not too many people hear us, but we do not lose heart and speak, for we know that we, priests, will be judged by God for whether we spoke about it or not, and politicians – for whether they listened to what they were reminded of or not," said His Beatitude Onufry.