Andrey Smirnov, a member of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience expert commission, on the air of the Viche YouTube channel, answered the question of what is the meaning of the dialogue between the UOC and the OCU, if we take into account the conclusion of the religious studies commission and anti-church bills that may be voted in the near future.

“Dialogue in order to either find a model of peaceful coexistence, or agree on a unification process, under what conditions the UOC can unite with the OCU, which has a tomos of autocephaly. And, as for me, the UOC could receive the same maximally independent autonomous rights, but as part of the OCU. Why can the UOC be independent and independent in governance as part of the ROC, but cannot be independent and independent as part of the OCU? Why not?” — said the expert.

To a clarifying question whether Andrei Smirnov meant autonomy within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, he answered in the negative.

“No. The OCU does not belong to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. If the National Security and Defense Council orders an examination, we will conduct another one,” the religious scholar emphasized.