National Guard continues discrimination of the canonical Church, – UOC

Because of the confusion and bias of the leadership of the National Guard, the Ukrainian military do not have the opportunity to receive proper pastoral care from the chaplains of the UOC, reports the Information and Educational Department.

The deputy commander of the National Guard for work with the military personnel Yaroslav Spodar told journalists that Arsen Avakov had forbidden the priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be involved in the chaplaincy service.

"Thus, the deputy commander of the National Guard once again showed the discriminatory position of the command in relation to the clergymen of the canonical Church," the UOC emphasizes.

As reported, in the order referred by Yaroslav Spodar, it is not a question of prohibiting the chaplaincy service for clerics of the UOC. The commander at his discretion determines where the center of a religious organization is. "Thus it turns out that the command of the National Guard persistently refuses to recognize the position of the Statute of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, according to which the Metropolitanate of Kiev is its administrative center," explains the Information and Educational Department.

At the same time, the deputy commander considers it necessary to grant the right to freedom of worship to pagans who conduct their rituals at Ukrainian military bases.