Expert: SBU to work with UOC members refusing to move to Phanar structures
According to a politician, the authorities are making up a plan of action after the UOC ban.
Ukrainian politician and public figure Ihor Mosiychuk revealed that there are plans in Ukraine to create the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Constantinople Patriarchate. According to these plans, the clergy and believers of the UOC are expected to join this new church structure after the UOC is banned.
"Zelensky is being persuaded that after the UOC is banned, the entire clergy and laity of this Church will rush to the Exarchate of the Constantinople Patriarchate, and if they don't, the SBU will make them...," wrote the politician on his Facebook page.
Mosiychuk believes this is a strategic mistake, as the Constantinople Exarchate will have significantly less support among believers compared to the OCU.
"Moreover, the branch of the Constantinople Patriarchate will take more parishes away from the OCU than from the UOC," he added.
As reported by the UOJ, the Office of the President of Ukraine, in collaboration with the Phanar, is preparing to register the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Constantinople Patriarchate, into which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is expected to be integrated after its ban.