Bohdan: Document on UOC Primate exiting ROC Synod published on DESS website
Former head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Olena Bohdan, has called on fact-checkers to examine official UOC documents.
Speaking on Suspilne, Bohdan stated that documentation confirming the exit of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church is publicly available on the official website of the State Service.
“Regarding the question of whether he ‘left or didn’t leave’ – I invite fact-checkers and all interested viewers to visit the website of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience and go to the ‘Religion’ section,” Bohdan said.
According to her, the DESS website contains the UOC’s statutory documents as well as correspondence from 2022 between the Church and the state authority.
“In particular, the letter from the UOC states that the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine terminated his membership in the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church – and there are some other details as well,” she noted.
Bohdan emphasized that state authorities are in possession of official documents signed by Metropolitan Onuphry, the Primate of the UOC.
“This makes sense,” she explained, “because according to the Church’s statutes, the Primate represents the UOC in communications with state authorities. Letters bearing his signature, the charter bearing his signature – all of it is there.”
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Olena Bohdan had described as absurd the practice of seeking evidence of UOC–ROC ties in documents from the aggressor state.
