Council of Churches Condemns Separatism and Advocates for Integrity and Inviolability of Ukraine’s Borders
The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) has condemned manifestations of separatism and advocates for Ukraine’s integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
This is stated in a communiqué adopted at a meeting of the AUCCRO on April 3, 2014, at the St. Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve, chaired by Metropolitan Onufry, locum tenens of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate), the Institute for Religious Freedom reports.
The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches unanimously declared that in Ukraine there is no religious hatred or intolerance among believers. The heads of churches and religious organizations have condemned provocations and attempts to incite hatred on the basis of religious grounds, as some media outlets have tried to do.
“Despite the social and political crisis that our country is experiencing, churches and religious organizations maintain interfaith and interreligious peace,” the council emphasized in the communique.
In addition, the heads of Ukrainian denominations expressed deep conviction in the necessity of building in Ukraine a strategic partnership between churches and religious organizations and the Ukrainian society and the state.
To this end, the Council of Churches has proposed to adopt the Law “On the Concept of Church-State Relations in Ukraine,” which will help overcome the consequences of the atheist past, implement constitutional freedoms, and establish specific mechanisms for cooperation of churches and religious organizations with the state.
The AUCCRO welcomed the fact that this bill is among the top priorities of the new government’s program, and hopes that it will be adopted in the near future.
The heads of the denominations also stressed that in order to solve the specific problems facing the churches and religious organizations, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should pass laws that support of all members of the council.
