I will defend the freedom of religious choice of those who decide to move to a single Orthodox Church of Ukraine, President Poroshenko
President Petro Poroshenko stressed the importance of the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and emphasized that "the state should not interfere in the activities of the church".
"Especially when it is a foreign state. The Ukrainian church cannot be guided by Moscow - when Russia attacked us, seized Crimea, committed aggression against our state in the east and kills Ukrainians. And now, through various elements of the hybrid war, including the church, it tries to undermine Ukraine's stability from the inside," Petro Poroshenko said during the visit to the newly built Boryspil Academic Lyceum.
"Now Ukrainians are united by the church," the Head of State stressed and thanked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, honorable Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine Filaret, the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches and all who believed and prayed for the creation of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
"We pray and I hope that the Lord will send wisdom to the Ukrainian priests and they will continue the process of unification into a single church, without any pressure from the state. For, as His Beatitude Epifaniy said, we come with love and prayer," Petro Poroshenko said.
The President said: "If someone decides to stay in prayer unity with the Russian Orthodox Church, where they start a divine service with the prayer for Kirill, who prays for Putin, for the Russian army and for the Russian authorities, takes part in the meetings of the Ministry of Defense and the Security Council of the Russian Federation - this is their choice".
At the same time, he stressed that he would defend the freedom of religious choice of those who decide to move to a single Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He said that after receiving the Tomos of autocephaly, more than 60 parishes throughout Ukraine have become part of the united Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
"We will not accelerate this, but we will thank everyone who makes such a clever decision," the President noted and expressed conviction that Ukraine will pass these challenges with honor.
