Vladimir Legoyda, head of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for Church, Society and Media Relations, said that "being a member of the Russian Orthodox church is a free choice of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate," because it allegedly "has a much greater degree of independence than the OCU."
Legoyda wrote about this in his Telegram channel, Glavcom reports.
He noted that the reason for the "persecution" and accusations against the UOC-MP is its dependence on Moscow.
"In this regard, I would like to note that the UOC – MP has a much greater degree of independence than the autocephalous OCU," the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church wrote. – Even critics who cannot be accused of sympathizing with the Russian Orthodox Church rightly note the absence of any pressure from Moscow on Ukrainian church life. And what kind of pressure can we talk about if being part of the Russian Church is a free choice of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate – Ed.), its episcopate and millions of believers in Ukraine?"
The representative of the Church of the aggressor country added that this choice is due to "the historical memory of our common Dnieper baptismal font, common history and cultural heritage, and our common spiritual roots."
It should be noted that the UOC-MP is not going to change its name, as required by Law No. 2662-VIII of December 20, 2018. This conclusion can be drawn from the statement of the head of the Legal Department of the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, archpriest Oleksandr Bakhov.
According to this law, in its name, this church must indicate belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church.