Political analyst: 80% of UOC representatives joining the OCU is a key task

Olexiy Koshel. Photo: DOSSIER

Olexiy Koshel, Chairman of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine and political scientist, has stated that the government has lost time by not passing legislative initiatives to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), and now the goal is to ensure that 80% of the church's laity and clergy transition to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). He made this statement on the Espresso TV channel.

Koshel believes that such anti-church laws (for example, the government’s draft law implementing the NSDC decision dated 2023) need to be adopted within a few weeks for the transition process to the OCU to be smooth.

“Unfortunately, we have lost precious time; we have wasted a year and a half, and during this time, I am convinced that the majority of UOC parishes could have already seamlessly become part of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The process could have already been moving toward completion. There was an emotional upsurge, people held meetings, people voted, people wanted the transition, but there were no legal grounds for it. The authorities lost a year and a half of precious time. Our key task now is to ensure that at least 80% of the representatives of the UOC MP transition to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This could be a very smooth process, but I fear that it might be artificially delayed again, and the process could stretch for years or even decades, or they might make a mess of it,” Koshel said.

As reported by the UOJ, President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the Verkhovna Rada, which has not met for three weeks, to convene and address the issue of “spiritual independence”.

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