Yurash: Kiev Patriarchate and UOC KP are different structures

Head of the Department for Religious Affairs and Nationalities of the Ministry of Culture Andrei Yurash. Photo: Ternopol Eparchy of the UAOC

The head of the Department for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine Andrei Yurash in an interview with “Zbruc” explained that the Kiev Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate are not the same things.

In particular, he noted that “since Patriarch Filaret asserts the idea that the Kiev Patriarchate exists – he has stated this many times – then, probably, he believes that the existence of a religious organization called “Kiev Patriarchate” is identical to the very fact of the existence of the UOC KP".

However, according to Yurash, this “of course, is not so because one religious organization is not synonymous with the church structure of the same name”.

He stated that “eparchies as a structure – just like the Church – do not have a legal entity. Only one religious organization, which exercises leadership and represents a particular Church or eparchial structure, has the status of a legal entity. This is so in the case of the Kiev City Eparchy.”
 
The Director of the Department for Religious Affairs said that Filaret as the head of the Kiev Eparchy must “carry out certain registration actions and submit the relevant papers in order to register the eparchial administration, which has not been done yet."

In his opinion, Epiphany’s order, according to which the parish of the Pokrovsky Church of the city of Kiev was taken under his direct submission, “set things straight. For example, it is forbidden to use these letterheads, abbreviations. Once again, it was confirmed that the UOC KP was terminated, therefore, any statements on behalf of this Church are not legitimate, and everything is put in its place.”

As the UOJ wrote earlier, “the Kiev Patriarchate of the UOC KP” religious center is still listed in the register of the Ministry of Justice and has not been removed from registration. The Ministry of Justice, in response to a request from the “Gordon” edition, stated that the activities of the UOC KP can be suspended only by the decision of its “Local Council” or in court.

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