"The enemy effectively exploits religion in this hybrid war. We are currently defending our information space, our language, and our culture, and, therefore, our spiritual space is also crucial. The state is doing everything to protect its spiritual space because, as we can see, the enemy quite successfully uses the religious sphere and religious organizations for its purposes in this hybrid war."
The Head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, stated this in an interview with "Voice of America" on November 5.
"Ukraine should legislatively prohibit the aggressor country from using religious organizations as a weapon for its purposes," Metropolitan Epifaniy stated.
According to him, the bill currently in the Verkhovna Rada, which aims to prohibit Churches from having ties with the aggressor country, "will protect Ukraine's spiritual space."
The head of the OCU also described Ukraine's historical decision to switch to a new calendar for celebrating Christmas as another step away from Russia.
"We see that this reform has been implemented and is well-received by Ukrainian society... Now is the time to implement such reforms in real life. We need to distance ourselves from everything Russian that has been imposed on us for a century. Society is currently acutely feeling the need to move away from this Russian influence and get closer to the European," concluded the head of the OCU.