Bohdan: UOC's withdrawal from Lavra will not strengthen national security

The former head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Olena Bohdan, has said that since the political course for "spiritual independence" was proclaimed on December 1, many UOC believers naturally feel betrayed by their state. She wrote about this in an article posted on the website Dialogtut.

"True spiritual independence has a very different face – more honest, thoughtful and human," she writes.

Olena Bohdan notes that loud headlines full of hatred for the UOC do not reflect the complex uncomfortable truth of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, but create dangerous illusions that sink our society deeper into absurdity and pose serious risks in the long term. This includes risks to national security.

Commenting on the government's order to vacate the territory of the Kyiv Cave Monastery until March 29, Olena Bohdan said that if the UOC is forced to change its location, the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy will not come and the national security of Ukraine will not be strengthened.

As reported, the former head of the State Ethnopolitics Committee earlier warned that the church issue in Ukraine could turn into a tragedy.