A member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Eurosolidarity party, Mykola Knyazhytskyy, has said that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the State Service for Ethno-Politics and Freedom of Conscience are not active enough on the issue of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The politician claims that he suggested that a norm on the Tomos should be prescribed in the Ukrainian legislation, but he did not meet any understanding from these organizations in this matter. About this he told in an interview with the publication “High Castle”.

“I proposed to write into Ukrainian legislation a mention of the Tomos – as an act granted not only to our Church, but also to the state, the Ukrainian people. For the Ecumenical Patriarch was approached by both the President and the Parliament for the Tomos. If such a norm is adopted, the Orthodox Church itself (as it happens in most European countries) will determine which other churches can be called Orthodox and which cannot”, – Kniazhytskyy said.

The parliamentarian noted that both the Verkhovna Rada, the SSEF and the OCU refused to legalize such a norm in Ukrainian legislation. Moreover, in his opinion, it is the OCU and the SSEF that are not particularly active in the issue of banning the UOC.

“The mentioned service (SSEF, – ed.) is a body of the executive branch, works in its vertical and reflects the policy pursued by the President and his Office. Why this law is feared there, it is difficult to say. But we know that in the ranks of the parliamentary majority there are many deputies torpedoing bills to restrict the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church by submitting relevant amendments. They have proposed more than a thousand such amendments, the so-called “amendment spam”. This reflects the attitude of the authorities to this issue. On the one hand, there is a resolute position of the Security Service of Ukraine, other bodies of executive power, and on the other hand – those in high offices, who oppose this law, slow down its adoption”, – continued the deputy.

Regarding the OCU, Knyazhytskyy is convinced that the lack of determination in this denomination is due to the fact that it is completely subordinate to the current Ukrainian government and “moves in its fairway.”

“I have not seen active support from the OCU for the ban of the Russian Church in Ukraine and the introduction of the norm on the Tomos into the legislation. I have not seen a single statement in support of such a position, although the speech has been going on for a long time. This cannot be called an active position. Ukraine is interested in introducing the norm on the Tomos into domestic legislation, as in other countries. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine should also be interested in this. It is not about ethics. I believe that the position of the OCU in this matter should be more active”, – summarized Knyazhytskyy.

We shall remind you that earlier Mykola Knyazhytskyy said that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will vote in the second reading of the law on the ban of the UOC in February 2024, by the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.