Liquidation of the UOC-MP in Kyiv: a trial has begun
3 September 00:25
A lawsuit has been filed to terminate the activities of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. It was initiated by the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience. The head of the department, Viktor Yelenskyy, said this during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.
Since the Kyiv Metropolis did not comply with the order, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience filed a lawsuit.
“According to the law, if the order is not fulfilled, our next step is to file a lawsuit. It was filed on August 29 with the administrative court. The Kyiv Metropolis itself filed several lawsuits in response. It is challenging the order and other things. But we are a democratic country, and the final point will be a court decision,” Yelenskyy said in a statement.
According to him, the trial will be held in accordance with the established procedures, and the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience will do everything possible to prevent this issue from being “drowned” in legal spam, as such actions are already being recorded.
The head of the DESS emphasized that if the court upholds the claim, the Kyiv Metropolis of the Moscow Patriarchate will be deprived of the status of a legal entity. It will also lose the right of personality.
If the administrative court forces the UOC (MP) to comply with the order from the State Ethnic Policy, the parish of the Russian church will lose its legal entity center in the person of the Kyiv Metropolis. This does not mean that these parishes have to move to any other church; they can act autonomously and remain independent. An example is the parishes in the Khmelnytsky region that operate autonomously.
“Even after the court verdict, this does not mean that all parishes and all communities belonging to the UOC (MP) will be closed. The Ukrainian state aims to ensure that the dismantling of the structures of the Russian Patriarchate is not accompanied by an attempt on human rights and the right of people to practice their religious beliefs. The Ukrainian state does not interfere in prayerful communications. The state only demands that the Ukrainian church withdraw from subordination to the Moscow Patriarch. The same one who killed at least 14 priests,” he said.
Earlier it was reported that the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has signs of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church. Its activities in Ukraine are prohibited by law.
