Archbishop Klyment of Simferopol and Crimea of the UOC-KP told In an interview to Glavkom under what terms the UOC-KP may be saved in occupied Crimea, based on the realities of today.
“In any case, the legal reregistration is necessary because without it some churches will remain cut off from light and water and under threat of loss of property. We already have had precedents. In the future, the problem will lie in the fact that I will not be able to pay any bill, not only utility bills but also for the services of security companies,” the Archbishop said.
He noted that this year the UOC-KP in Crimea have managed to survive without re-registration, and during the year the Church maintained the position that they will be defended in the occupied Ukrainian peninsula.
“I turned to the President and the Government, to the NSDC and Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Lutkovska. Unfortunately, the leadership of Ukrainian state did nothing to explain to the religious leaders how they should act in those circumstances in which they now find themselves,” Bishop Klyment concluded.
According to him, the amount of believers in the Crimean churches of the UOC-KP increased after the annexation of Crimea. So, on Easter 2015, in about 5 thousand people came to churches during the day.
Note that now the official website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) offers a map of Ukraine without the Crimea and indicates Russian jurisdiction of parishes.