KYIV – On June 10, 2010, a meeting of the heads of the churches – participants of the Council of Christian Churches of Ukraine – was held on the premises of the Ukrainian Association for Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, situated in the Kyiv Caves Monastery. Among the invited guests were representatives of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Ukraine, and of the State Committee of Ukraine for Nationalities and Religions represented by its head Yurii Reshetnikov. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) was represented by the UOC-MP administrator, Bishop Mytrofan of Bila Tserkva and Bohuslav. 

At the beginning of the session Mr. Reshetnikov informed those present on the state of church-state relations in Ukraine. According to him, today we observe a decrease of statistically average percentage of growth of the number of religious communities to 2% as compared to 4% last year.  The head of the State Committee also noted the positive activity of the state councils with cooperation of the Christian Churches of Ukraine, which led to the establishment of several new ministries and institutions. 

Also at the session the draft declaration of the Christian Churches of Ukraine on the Negative Attitude to the Sin of Homosexuality, its Propagation in the Society, and the Attempts of Legalizing Same-sex Marriages (registration of same-sex partnerships) was adopted, which will come into effect when it is signed by the heads of the Christian Churches.  The writing of this document was initiated by the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which on April 28 approved the final draft resolution and recommendation concerning the issues of sex and gender discrimination.  

According to the press service of the UOC-MP, the Churches of Ukraine are anxious about the similar dangerous processes taking place in western Europe and undermining the Christian notion of marriage, family, and society, propagating sin and disguising it as democratic tendencies.   

Besides, the attention of the Christian Churches of Ukraine was focused on the multiple attempts at discrediting and impeding the activity of the National Expert Commission on Public Moral. The given body is called to prevent filling the information space of the national mass media with various improprieties such as propagation of war, national and cultural enmity, cult of violence and cruelty, and of various openly obscene films and programs.  Since the participants of this information war block the activity of the given body, the churches decided to send an open address to the Ukrainian society on the necessity of protecting high moral principles and family values.  

The session participants also approved the text of an open letter to a number of high officials on the need of comprehensive information and educational activity of the state to help prevent the spread of AIDS and HIV among the population. 

At the end the participants of the meeting considered possible points of cooperation of the Christian Churches of Ukraine with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine.