The Ukrainian Orthodox Church considers certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions that are not controlled by Kiev to be part of Ukraine and, by its presence there, can help reintegrate these territories. This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, in an interview with the Peace and Development Foundation, writes Fraza.

The priest explained that dioceses whose flock lives in the uncontrolled territories of Donbass remain within the UOC.

“We are constantly communicating with our clergy and faithful from those uncontrolled territories. Bishops and priests, if possible, come to Kiev or other settlements in the controlled part of Ukraine. I am convinced that communication between people from different regions and territories is the real basis for unification,” Father Nikolai believes.

The speaker of the UOC noted that at the beginning they tried to present the events in the East of Ukraine as a religious conflict, but this rhetoric did not last long.

“In my opinion, this conflict has social, political, ideological, but not religious reasons. Today it is obvious that significant groups of our believers are present on both sides of the line of demarcation,” said Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich.