President Petro Poroshenko signed a bill on Saturday that said the Ukrainian Orthodox Church must change their name to reflect its links with Russia, referred to in the church as the Moscow Patriarchate.
This comes in the middle of a complex split in the Orthodox church as many in Ukraine want a departure from Moscow’s influence. The President argued that it would be easier for people to know what type of church to opt for.
“It is easier to make a choice when all things are called by their names,” Poroshenko said.
Ukraine’s parliament passed the motion but priests and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church protested outside, saying it was a violation of freedom of religion and an example of unconstitutional state interference in religious affairs.
Under the bill, the church will be expected to change their name in the next four months.
Earlier in the year the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, called ‘first among equals’ within the denomination, allowed the independent wing of the Ukraine church to come under separate headship – causing Russia to part from Constantinople in some official meetings.
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