The Ukrainian government guarantees full compliance with religious freedom for the faithful of all confessions - Head of State

In Ukraine, the right to freedom of religion has been and will be respected, President Poroshenko says.

“The Ukrainian government guarantees the full respect for religious freedom for the believers of all denominations. There is no state church, we never had it and there will never be one. And nobody will be "invited by force" to the Orthodox Church consecrated with Tomos,” the Head of State noted.

"I emphasize again, this is a matter of free choice for every believer," he stressed.

“For us, our own church is a guarantee of the spiritual freedom. This is the key to social harmony. I guarantee that the State of Ukraine will respect the choice of those who decide to remain in the church structure, which will maintain its unity with the Russian Orthodox Church. But I also guarantee that the state will protect the rights of those priests and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, who voluntarily decide to leave the influence of Moscow to establish, along with the others, the Autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” the President said.

“The joint creation of an independent church cannot be the basis for discord, for confrontation, for violence. We certainly can't let it happen. On the opposite side, it is a road to peace, comfort and understanding,” the Head of State noted.

“As soon as you see people who will call up to take the Laurel, monastery or temple by force, you should know - they are the agents of Moscow. As the goal of the Kremlin is to fuel the religious war in Ukraine. And this is definitely not my plan, not the plan of the Ukrainian people and not the plan of the State of Ukraine,” Petro Poroshenko added.