On Saturday, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law banning the Orthodox Church linked to Russia in Ukraine, and the decision was published on the website of the Parliament of Ukraine.
Zelensky approved the law, which Russia announced, on the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, two and a half years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Agence France-Presse.
For centuries, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was under the religious leadership of Russia, but it declared independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2019.
The Ukrainians held Christmas Masses on December 25 last year for the first time instead of January 7, like most of the Orthodox community in the world, in a step that shows a commitment to separation from Russia.
Zelensky said in his Christmas message at the time: “We all celebrate Christmas on the same date, as one big family, one nation and one united state. “
Zelensky had previously given official permission to move the date of Christmas celebrations to December 25.
A memorandum attached to the text of the law approved by the delegates said: “The people of Ukraine have been under the control of Russian ideology for a long time in almost all areas of life, including the Julian calendar and the Christmas celebration on January 7. “
The memorandum referred to “the desire of every Ukrainian citizen to live his own life and his own traditions and holidays.”
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2024-08-24 08:48:58
