Religious Events Prohibited in Center of Sumy

At the session of the Executive Committee of the Sumy City Council on August 2, a list of places was compiled where public events of religious educational character are prohibited.

There are now only two places where the City Committee on Promoting the Observance of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations will allow religious communities to gather: a summer platform in the municipal Kozhedub Park and the Theatre Square, reports our RISU correspondent in Sumy, Iryna Stehnii.

The list of places where large-scale religious events are not advisable is much longer.

It was said at the committee's session that the decision was made to keep peace in Sumy and to help prevent interdenominational conflicts.

The officials also said that the Law of Ukraine on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations stipulates that religious rituals, ceremonies, services, and processions are to be held only in religious buildings and adjacent territories and that in other cases the organizers are to receive permission from the Executive Committee.

If the committee receives a petition to allow a religious event in the center of the city, a permission will be issued with a recommendation to hold it at the Theatre Square or the summer platform of Kozhedub Park.

The decision was made as a result of the scandal connected to the sports and musical event “Youth for a Healthy Lifestyle” that was held on June 9 on Independence Square.