Over half of Ukrainians support autocephaly of Orthodox Church - poll

Some 52.8% of Ukrainians support the initiative to establish a local autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine, according to a study conducted by the Drahomanov Sociological Center, Ukrinform reports.

Political expert Rostyslav Balaban presented the results of the study at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"According to our estimates, 52.8% support autocephaly, whereas 19.1% categorically do not support it. Some 19.6% are not interested in the religious theme and the issue of autocephaly, and 8.5% were undecided," he said.

According to the poll, 50.2% of Ukrainians support their country's aspiration to join the European Union, he said. Some 41.5% of respondents back Ukraine's desire to join NATO.

The poll of the adult population of Ukraine was conducted by the Drahomanov Sociological Center from October 27 to November 4, 2018. A total of 1,800 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except for Crimea and occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions) were interviewed. The poll's margin of error does not exceed 2.3%