By hook or by crook: Bill No 4128 rammed through again

Last Sunday “TSN Week” program delivered another antichurch video footage. It is poignant in two respects.

The first thing is its internal contradiction. For almost nine minutes, some statements appear contradictory to one another. The evidence that was supposed to blacken the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in fact, speaks in its favor.

Secondly, this video appeared for a reason. Its appeal is clear – to return to the adoption of scandalous bills Nos. 4128 and 4511 by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The proposed tactic is very interesting: to sacrifice bill No. 4511 "On the special status of religious organizations whose governing centers are in a state recognized by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an aggressor state" and to push through the bill No. 4128 "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine" On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations "("On Transitions"), which creates a legislative basis for the illegal seizure of churches.

At the beginning of the plot, a portion of mud from Alexander Nevzorov is poured out at the UOC: "The ideological war in Ukraine will not end as long as the Russian Orthodox Church is working in the country. This is a propaganda organization that sucks out money from Ukraine and is fighting it with the same money." An explicit falsehood of this phrase is clear even to presenter Alla Mazur, who hastens to dissociate herself from the lie: "I will not comment on these words."

Further on it is announced that journalist Sergei Galchenko has travelled half of Ukraine, and what he saw was an intriguing religious detective. However, it later turns out that "half of Ukraine" is just two villages: Kinakhovtsy in Ternopil region (200 inhabitants) and Verkhnie Vorota in Transcarpathia (about 2000 inhabitants). Quite possible that TSN staff live in some sort of their own, separate Ukraine.

In Kinakhovtsy, poor rural houses are first shown and then, against the backdrop of chic designer interiors, resident of the village Irina Volynskaya gives an interview to channel "1 + 1". Filming takes place on the day when the "hierarch" from the Kiev Patriarchate arrives at the church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, having been taken over by the schismatics.

Irina Volynskaya explains the transition of the community from the canonical Church as follows: "Firstly, Church Slavonic, I want to hear service in my native language." That is, the only claim is a liturgical language. Here we are! Church Slavonic is not very clear, but if everything were in Ukrainian, then there would be more young people attending services, and children. For the information of Irina Volynskaya and those who think that the transition to the modern national language in worship will increase the number of parishioners: similar experiments in Greece, Russia, Bulgaria and other countries unambiguously show that the number of parishioners, on the contrary, decreases. And in Ukraine the Kyiv Patriarchate, alas, is not gaining momentum with the help of the Ukrainian language.

Further, the priest of the UOC of the village of Kinakhovtsy, Vitaliy Gurev, is accused of having concluded a contract with the security service "Stealth 1" on providing security. For some reason, they do not remember that threats of physical violence have been repeatedly addressed to him and to the church elder. It’s obvious that Father Vitaliy is deliberately presented in the plot as a warlike aggressor. However, an opposite statement follows immediately: a meeting of the villagers voted for the transfer to the Kyiv Patriarchate, and this transition took place quietly. The voice-overs says, "Kinakhovtsy is one of the rare examples of a painless transition to the Kyiv Patriarchate. But such transitions are hampered by the lack of legislation, namely the Draft Law on “Transitions”. Again a contradiction – if the legislation prevents transitions, then how did the transition take place in the village of Kinakhovtsy? And how was it possible with the transition to the Kyiv Patriarchate of the other 10 communities which is officially recognized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church?

The same nonsense is borne by Alexander Sagan, called in the "TSN" story as a religious scholar: "De jure, the transition is practically impossible." Probably, the “expert” does not know about Kinakhovtsy and other successful transitions.

Further on, a stunning version is being put forward, why bills Nos. 4128 and 4511 were not adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on May 18. It turns out that someone tied into one package (this, by the way, is not true) bill No. 4128 "On Transitions" and No. 4511 "On the special status of religious organizations" (read the UOC). But the one numbered 4511 is initially provocative and has no chance of being accepted. Finally, "1 + 1" openly admits: "Even a poor lawyer will say this is interference into the affairs of the Church and is expicitly prohibited by the Constitution." Isn’t it what all sensible people have been saying for so long?! The appearance of bill No. 4511 is not interpreted as the beginning of open persecutions against the Church, but as an attempt to sabotage bill No. 4128, which is allegedly included in the same package. Something similar to statements that the "Right Sector" is managed from the Kremlin. Religious expert Sagan perfectly feels the absurdity of all this and tries to justify himself, "I can say neither "yes" or "no", but in fact it is so." The prize for nonsense goes to Sagan!

All this is shown against the background of the prayerful standing of the UOC believers under the Verkhovna Rada on May 18 together with the statement of Metropolitan Onuphry that bills will cause religious animosity. And then "1 + 1" says that "animosity is happening right now," and shows the frames of the forceful take-over of temples. Any sane person will ask himself a question, "Who is engaged in these seizures? Who breaks into temples with sticks and beats? Who beats the parishioners?" The answer is quite obvious – the Kiev Patriarchate and the nationalists empathetic with it. Well done "1 + 1"! What, in theory, they need to hide, they broadcast instead to the whole country!

The voice-over says, "The UOC is satisfied by the fact that the bills have not been accepted, but the believers of Ukraine are not." To confirm this thesis, Sergei Galchenko goes to Transcarpathia to encounter the following embarrassment: "In Transcarpathia, almost all Orthodoxy is controlled by the Moscow Patriarchate." Wow! After 25 years of pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including the last three years of undisguised hostility, the population of one of the most western regions of the country remains faithful to the canonical Orthodoxy!

As for “Mister” Ivan from the village of Verkhnie Vorota, he dreams of a church service being performed in the native language, and cannot wait until the Verkhovna Rada passes Law No. 4128, which will facilitate transitions. For the information of Ivan, we repeat what has already been said: 10 parishes throughout Ukraine passed to the UOC-KP without any law No. 4128.

It is further reported that believers allegedly dream to go to the KP, but face threats and curses of the UOC episcopate. Where are the facts?! Who, where, when, what exactly threatened with? For reference: "Threat" is a finished crime according to several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Afterwards, the favorite topic of all anti-church journalists is raised: "priests in Mercedes". This time, their target was Archpriest Victor Zemlyanoi, who was called an "agent for confronting religious transitions." "TSN" allegedly showed his house and allegedly his apartment, without giving, as always, any evidence that this property belongs namely to Father Victor. He is accused of providing safeguards for the Orthodox against excesses of the schismatics. Well, it turns out a bad thing to do...

Another scandalous bill is also mentioned, according to which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church should be renamed into the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Another absurdity! According to this logic, the Japanese Orthodox Church should be renamed into the ROC in Japan, the Chinese Orthodox Church – the ROC in China and so on. Again a note: out of more than 16,000 priests of the UOC only 16 are foreign citizens (not only Russian).

Plots like "TSN Week" do not appear on television for no reason. There is an attempt to shape a public opinion that bill No. 4128 "On Transitions" is essential, without it the Ukrainian people simply cannot live. Its absence is a cause of all religious confrontations. Once it has been accepted – all the atrocities will stop at once. The fact that with the adoption of this bill a religious war will really break out is known to all sensible people who have read the bill. After all, it foresees changing of a confessional identity by the authority of people who "identify" themselves with a religious community. This scheme has been spoken about hundreds of times: a group of young healthy men arrives at the temple, identifies themselves with the community, holds a meeting and transfers the church to the Kyiv Patriarchate. And everything is lawful.

Why is "1 + 1" channel and all the forces behind it are promoting so persistently bill No. 4128, even at the cost of refusing bill No. 4511? A logical question arises: "Perhaps, religious hostility and heated confrontation around temples across Ukraine are stirred up intentionally by the initiators of the draft law" On Transitions"? Fancy if you can at least start the process of adopting the bill, how it will distract public opinion from another political process, namely impeachment to President Poroshenko, which was initiated by three parliamentary factions – Batkivshchina, Samopomich and Radical Party. The forces in power really have something to worry about. More than a cold reception of Peter Poroshenko by American President Donald Trump is eloquent of the fact that they no longer bank on him overseas.

Well, the program "TSN Week" ends with merely golden words: "The state should not interfere in the affairs of the Church, but must do everything so that Ukrainians can choose where to pray." Now let's think what should be done for this end? It is not difficult to answer this question: it is necessary to suggest to the religious denominations themselves to work out the procedure for the exercise by the citizens of Ukraine of the above-mentioned right. The state cannot cope with that in any way for the following reasons:

1. The state cannot make sense about the internal canonic law of every religious organization.
2. The state cannot determine the criteria for the affiliation of each particular believer to a particular confession.
3. The state cannot grasp the issue of ownership of the church property. Often a juridical plane of the issue does not correspond to the factual and moral ones: who gives what to whom; who helps whom? Not always the community has rights (both juridical and moral) to property. Donations, including large ones, for example, for the construction of a temple, are often made to a specific community, taking into account its confessional affiliation, and if this affiliation changes, a contradiction arises.
4. Many temples and shrines were set up or handed over to the Church centuries ago and it was stipulated by their confession. For example, in the 16th century Princess Anna Goiskaya donated to the Pochayiv Lavra a miraculous icon of the Mother of God, as well as her lands and money, provided that the monastery will always remain faithful to the canonical Orthodoxy.

This list can be continued. One thing is clear: only religious organizations themselves can develop a mechanism for the transition of communities from one confession to another. The state is capable of thinking up only a kind of absurdity like the notorious "self-identification." But apparently, peaceful settlement of this issue that would suit everyone is not in the cards of certain political forces. They desperately need to exacerbate the political situation. And the recent program "TSN Week" does bear witness to this assumption.