Attempts of UAOC and UOC-KP to reunite meet the society’s demands, says religion scholar

Religion scholar Andriy Yurash believes that the current situation is unique, because there has never been such favorable climate for a local church, as he said in comments to Radio Liberty.

“Now, there is a real desire to unite, and not only on the part of the two churches, there is also huge pressures of society. Sociological research of Democratic Initiative Foundation and SOCIS Center show that if the Church does not reunite now, society will not accept it. That is, the strivings of the UAOC and the UOC-KP to the association reflect the demand of society,” says the expert.

Andriy Yurash explains that following the agreement between the two patriotic Kyiv-centered churches the Orthodox Churches inside Ukraine the talks with world Orthodoxy will become possible. As a result, Constantinople will take care of the issue of the canonical Ukrainian Church, but the process is going to be difficult, the religious expert believes.