Sociologist, religious scholar Nikolai Mitrokhin, in an interview with the Dialogue.TUT portal, noted that “now is the most difficult period in the life of the UOC over the past 60 years.”

“Actually, in general, there is a question about its further existence – at least in the forms and sizes familiar to us. And this is connected primarily with the conflict between the Church and the state. Or the state with the Church,” he said.

According to the religious scholar, the conflict is mutual, and it arose on the basis of disagreements between the political position of the church leadership (in the first place) and the political position of the leadership of Ukraine (in the second place).

“At the same time, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church remains the largest Ukrainian denomination and dominates its competitor, the OCU, approximately in the ratio of 1:5 and 1:3 (depending on the region in question),” Mitrokhin said.