Verkhovna Rada Committee supported the resolution on the protection of the OCU in Crimea
The document should be put to the vote by the Verkhovna Rada, “Krym.Realii” media outlet reports.
“The aim of the draft document is the protection guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine of the right to freedom of religion of believers of the Crimean Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church), as well as cultural values relevant to the formation of cultural space of Ukraine on the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by preserving the premises of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga from destruction as a result of illegal actions of the Russian Federation,” the explanatory note to the draft resolution reads.
Earlier, the Institute of Religious Freedom and the Center for Civil Liberties sent a petition in support of the transfer to state ownership of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princes Volodymyr and Olga of the Crimean Diocese of OCU in Simferopol to the Committee and the leadership of the Parliament.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine re-adopted the draft resolution of the Verkhovna Rada on the protection of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in annexed Crimea.
Earlier, this draft resolution was already adopted by the previous government headed by Oleksiy Honcharuk, but was withdrawn by procedural rules for changing the Cabinet.
Archbishop Klyment believes that the resolution of the Ukrainian government will help preserve the Cathedral of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Volodymyr and Olga in Simferopol by "extending the responsibility of the state for the citizens of Ukraine who remained in Crimea.”
The Russian government in Crimea issued an order to " vacate the premises” of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Volodymyr and Olga in Simferopol, where the services of the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate (now the OCU) were held.
The Russian Ministry of the property of the Crimea explained the demand to vacate the building of the Cathedral in Simferopol by the end of the contract with the diocese of the UOC-KP, which was transferred to the established Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
