All-Ukraine Council of Churches Concerned about Persecution of Religious Freedom in Crimea

Representatives of Ukrainian faiths stated that believers in Crimea, especially the citizens of Ukraine, faced the threat of the ban of their worship and religious activities.

This follows from the requirements of the occupational Russian authorities regarding the forced re-registration of the Ukrainian communities by January 1, 2015, in accordance with Russian legislation, reported the Institute for Religious Freedom.

The meeting of the Secretariat of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which took place on October 20 under the chairmanship of Kyiv Patriarchate spokesman Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya), was dedicated to the analysis of this situation and other issues.

Director of the Department of Religious and Ethnic Affairs under the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine Volodymyr Yushkevich, who was present at the meeting, assured that the Ukrainian government considers Crimea to be a temporarily occupied territory, and therefore all religious communities registered in compliance with the legislation of Ukraine continue to be recognized and protected by the Ukrainian government.

Representatives of churches and religious organizations discussed possible measures to protect freedom of religion in Crimea and interests of Ukrainian believers and religious communities of the peninsula.

The Secretariat of the Council also adopted texts of the messages of the Council of Churches on the occasion of the parliamentary elections and on issues of charity and philanthropy. In the near future the agreed documents will be made ​​public in the media.