Instead of lobbying the interests of the OCU, officials in Ukraine should deal with issues in vital areas. Bishop Viktor (Kotsaba) of Baryshevsky said this, commenting on the words of the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko about the meeting of Denis Shmygal with the Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, writes For-ua.

In the opinion of Bishop Viktor, Alexander Tkachenko “transparently hinted that a high representative of the Ukrainian government in a conversation with the Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church lobbied the interests of one confession in Ukraine – the OCU.”

Vladyka reminded the officials that according to the Constitution of Ukraine, the Church in Ukraine is separated from the state, “which means that the Ukrainian government should not interfere in church affairs.”

He also noted that “the representatives of the Ukrainian politicians have repeatedly sounded words that no confession in our country has a priority in the eyes of the state, everyone enjoys freedom and the same rights.”

“However, in practice we see a completely different picture – when the top officials of Ukraine are concerned about the interests of one confession, while neglecting the interests of millions of believers in our Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” said the hierarch.