ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL CHURCH IS A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY, SPEAKER OF THE UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT TELLS MONKS FROM MOUNT ATHOS
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RISU – September 2016
Ukraine’s Parliament and the secular government do not intend to interfere with or regulate religious life, but are the proponents of the unified Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
This was announced on September 17, by Speaker Andreiy Parubiy during a meeting with a delegation of monks from a monastery of Mount Athos, Ukrainian Pravda Mount Athos quoting the Parliament’s press-service.
“Currently the society holds a lively debate about granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine,” Parubiy said. He noted that in June, Parliament adopted an appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew about the autocephalous status of the Ukrainian Church, in favor of which a large number of MPs voted.
Parubiy added that it is “not only a religious matter but also a national security issue.”
“Ukraine has to protect its independence from the troubles that came with Russian tanks, and become a great challenge, because there is a military aggression and interference in the spiritual space,” the Parliament speaker said.
He stressed that “the Parliament and secular government do not intend either to interfere with or regulate religious life, but are the proponents of the unified Orthodox Church in Ukraine and we just conveyed the prayers of millions of Ukrainian, appealing to Patriarch Bartholomew.”
