President Petro Poroshenko stressed that the authorities in Ukraine clearly share the principle of non-interference of the state in church activities. The Head of State stressed that this especially applies to a foreign state, the interference of which has always been taking place in recent years.
"The Russian Orthodox Church is an element of the Russian political system. Who said that? Putin said that Russia holds on two pillars - Russian Orthodox Church and nuclear weapon. We have to make conclusions from this, because is it okay when the Russian security council meets in the Kremlin under the chairmanship of Putin with one issue on the agenda - how to protect the ROC in Ukraine?” the President noted at the International Conference “The Hybrid War Decade: Lessons Learned to Move Forward Successfully”.
You have nothing to do with it. Your church, your army, your weaponry have nothing to do with it. Go back home to Russia," the Head of State said.
The Head of State reminded that during his visit to Istanbul, he signed the historic agreement on cooperation and interaction between Ukraine and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is a document in support of the creation of the autocephalous Orthodox church in Ukraine. The President expressed hope that the holding of the unifying Council would not be delayed and after the election of the primate, the Ukrainian church would receive the Tomos with confirmation of its spiritual independence.
"The appearance of an independent Orthodox church, recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch, in Ukraine is compared with the proclamation of state independence 27 years ago. And it's true. For us, this is a matter of the same weight as the visa-free regime, as the Association Agreement with the European Union, as our struggle for membership in NATO and the EU," Petro Poroshenko stressed.
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