Yelensky: UOC KP has more parishioners – they just go to UOC temples

The author of the anti-church bill No. 4128, MP Viktor Yelensky said the Russian Orthodox Church was created by Ukrainian priests and bishops and, in general, the Russian Empire was also created by the Ukrainians. It was said in the program of Zik channel ”In a Direct Speech: Spiritual Occupation”.

"When there was a division of Churches in Ukraine, I said that it reflects the division in society," Viktor Yelensky said. Now there is no such a fraction in the society. But there remains a church split. We can see there exist 12 thousand parishes, registered as Moscow Patriarchate, but there is a great deal more people who say they belong to the Kyiv Patriarchate. What does this mean? It means that when people are asked which patriarchate they belong to, they have to manifest their identity, and their identity is Ukrainian. But it turns out (I can testify to that personally) that in practice the Moscow Patriarchate and the Kyiv Patriarchate are similar. And this can mean that many of those who say they belong to the Kyiv Patriarchate go to the temples of the Moscow Patriarchate, because there are no others in the vicinity, but they do not want to admit this fact."

At the same time the MP did not specify why cross processions of the UOC gather tens and hundreds of thousands believers, whereas the religious processions, organized by the Kyiv Patriarchate, attract far less participants.