Changes in Religious Network in Ukraine Reported

12.12.2012, 08:27
First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine, the ex-Head of the State Department on Nationalities and Religions, Yurii Bohutskyi reported on changes in the religious network structure in Ukraine.

Over fifty scholars and representatives of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate, UOC-Kyivan Patriarchate, Spiritual Board of Muslims of Ukraine, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Bible Society, as well as government officials attended a scholarly conference on church-state relations in Ukraine, which was held on December 11-12 at the M. Dragomanov National Teacher Training University.

In his introductory address, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine, the ex-head of the State Department on Nationalities and Religions, Yurii Bohutskyi, reported on changes in the religious network structure in Ukraine. According to the report, there are more than 36,500 thousand religious organizations in Ukraine as of the end of 2012, including 35,000 religious communities, 290 religious centers representing 55 confessions. The Orthodox constitute the largest segment of the network. The highest rate of growth is registered in the south of Ukraine.

Therefore, according o the official, “the established network of religious communities is almost sufficient for meeting religious needs of the believers.”

On the whole, 70% of the religious communities are provided with proper religious buildings, the rate varying from 90% for the Roman Catholics and 75% for the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.