The Ministry of Culture engages in protectionism of the Kiev Patriarchate, - experts

Permitting the Kiev Patriarchate to hold services in the Little Sophia and denying the same the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Ministry of Culture acted illegally. This was said by political analysts interviewed by the UOJ.          

Andrei Zolotarev, head of the analytical center "Third Sector":

– It is not the first time the state men have showed their preferences in the church question. Although according to the Constitution of Ukraine, the Church is separated from the state. However, since the "idée fixe" about the creation of the local Church does not leave the minds of our officials, they favour the Kiev Patriarchate. Nothing is new here. Those who spoke the loudest about their commitment to democratic ideals and legal norms openly and shamelessly violate these very norms now.

Ruslan Bortnik, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Institute of Policy Analysis and Management:  

– In that decision, we can see the rights of believers being discredited. And it concerns not only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but also other Christian denominations. The right public policy is to provide a possibility of alternate service. Since it is state property, the state addresses the issue or denies all. That is: to allow all or to deny all. If someone is allowed so defiantly and someone is denied, it is an example of state’s interference in religious affairs. But such a policy is unacceptable for a democratic state.

Mikhail Pavlov, director of the Fund for humanitarian strategies:

- It is clear that the Ministry of Culture holds unfriendly policy towards the UOC and protectionist policies in relation to Filaret’s Church. And the situation with the Little Sophia reflects it. As one of the symbols of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, this symbolic place is given to the Kiev Patriarchate, of course, for ideological and political reasons. Because the Kiev Patriarchate is ready to be a convenient tool in the hands of the current government.

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