Church, State And Civil Organizations Discuss Church’s Role In Society

Anatolii Hrytsenko, president of the Razumkov Center, emphasized that ,according to the survey, the church is the most trusted social institution in Ukraine, contrasted with state bodies of authority that have a very low level of people’s trust. Even though most of the believers that were questioned perceive the church from a position of faith, morality and ethics, rather than as a social institution, they still think that social assistance from the church is important and necessary. Concerning religious tolerance, the survey demonstrated a higher level of tolerance among non-believers, whereas believers are less tolerant of other denominations and religions. Dr. Adolph Hampel of the Institute of Catholic Theology at the University of Hissen, Germany, informed the participants of the meeting about the experience of cooperation between the church, the state and political and civil organizations in Germany. A representative of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church called upon religious organizations to totally refrain from interfering in the political process, so that the church not lose its main function. Prof Dmytro Stepovyk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate stressed that the Ministry of Education has placed obstacles to cooperation between the church and the state in the field of education. Archbishop Ihor (Isichenko) of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church noted that state officials have not changed their strategy of cooperation with churches and demonstrate a preferential attitude to those that have more believers and are most influential. In addition, Archbishop Ihor also condemned the creation of groups in the Ukrainian Parliament that support a certain jurisdiction in Orthodoxy. Fr. Oleksa Petriv of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said that, before developing legislation, the state and the church should work out the concept of mutual relations, on the basis of which legislative bills will be created. Archbishop Auhustyn (Markevych) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate delivered a report entitled “The Church And State On Their Way To Equal Relations,” in which he analyzed how the official documents adopted in Ukraine meet the requirements of the latest Recommendation of the Council of Europe. Representatives of other Christian jurisdictions and the National Committee on Religious Affairs also participated in the meeting.