Ukrainian Lawmakers Contest Law On Canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church's Renaming - Court

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2019) Lawmakers of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, appealed to the country's Constitutional Court against the law obliging the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to change its name, the court's press service said in a statement on Friday.

The law came into force in Ukraine in December. Under the new legislation, the word "Russian" should be added to the church's name, since Kiev claims that it is managed from Russia and its name should therefore reflect this. While the UOC-MP has been given four months to change its name, it has stressed that its governing center was located not in Russia but in Kiev and the church should consequently not fall under the law.

"On January 18, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine received a constitutional application of 49 Ukrainian lawmakers on compliance (constitutionality) of the law of Ukraine 'On Amendments to the Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine 'On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations'' regarding the name of religious organizations with the Constitution of Ukraine," the statement read.

On January 6, Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew handed over the tomos of autocephaly to the head of the newly-established Ukrainian church. Under the tomos, the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine will have jurisdiction exclusively over Ukraine and will not be authorized to appoint bishops and establish its parishes abroad, becoming effectively dependent on Constantinople.

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) along with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) refused to recognize the establishment of the new church structure in Ukraine and Constantinople's decision to grant autocephaly to the new Ukrainian church.