Kyiv Patriarchate spokesman opposes ban on the UOC (MP)

The spokesman for the UOC-KP, Archbishop Yevstratii (Zorya) has spoken against banning the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. He believes such a ban will be an invaluable gift to Moscow and might help it ignite a religious civil war in Ukraine.

He was reported as saying this during the web conference at Glavred.

“I am absolutely confident that the Moscow Patriarchate should not be banned in Ukraine. Fighting the dragon, we must beware not to turn into a dragon ourselves. Struggling with Russia, we avoid becoming Russia. It is difficult, because doing good is always more difficult than doing evil,” he said.

In his view, one should not recourse to banning the entire religious organization, but remain within the legal framework, expose and punish those who are hiding behind the church, directly cooperating with Russian intelligence services, terrorists and separatists, performing their tasks, promoting their ideology.

“They are not numerous within the UOC-MP, but like sourdough, they are trying to ferment the dough, and using the mechanisms of subordination, trying to subdue the whole structure of the MP in Ukraine and put it into their service,” said the hierarch.

“As I said before, it is important that this Church was given its own true name - the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, and would not disguise under the name of the Ukrainian Church. For if Ukraine elected to prohibit the whole Church, it would be a great gift to the Kremlin, because it would help to really ignite religious civil war, it would set our democratic allies in Europe and America against us, and it would help the aggressor to win. We must be wise and avoid such things,” Archbishop Yevstratii said.