The Ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Threatens Unity and Harmony in the Orthodox Church: Catholicos Karekin II of all Armenia

DECR – OCP News Service – 05/11/2023

Moscow- Russia: The law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, if adopted in Ukraine, will violate the unity and harmony of spiritual life in the Orthodox Church. Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II stated this in a conversation with a TASS correspondent.

“We learned with concern about the initiative recently discussed in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The bill on the activities of religious organizations with its provisions will create new undesirable sentiments among believers and will cause neglect of the traditional and sacred ecclesiastical legal canons of the Church of Christ, as well as a violation of the unity and harmony of spiritual life in the Orthodox Church,” noted Karekin II.

He also expressed hope that the Rada deputies “will be guided and act in this sensitive issue with an awareness of the holiness of the faith, the need to regulate relations between peoples of the same faith and with respect for the centuries-old traditions of the Church.” “It is our deep conviction that, especially during these difficult trials, it is necessary to keep the Church away from political processes and not turn the religious factor into an opportunity to sow speculation and controversy,” the Catholicos added.

The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church emphasized that he prays that “the conflict between two peoples friendly to the Armenians, connected with each other by the closest historical ties, will end and that the professed common values ​​and faith will triumph in their lives, serving as a bridge to establish solidarity and peace.”

Source:

OCP News Service