President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine has signed the law obliging the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to mention in its name its belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
A statement published on the presidential website on Dec. 22 says that the law in question is the one passed by the Verkhovna Rada on Dec. 20 – “On Making Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations'” regarding the names of religious organizations that are part of a religious organization whose headquarters are located outside of Ukraine in the state that has been recognized by law as the one that undertook military aggression against Ukraine and/or temporarily occupied part of Ukraine’s territory.”
“People have the constitutional right to a free choice of religion. These amendments to the law will create better conditions for implementing such a right for those who will decide which Orthodox jurisdiction to belong to. Be it either the newly established autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine or that church that has insisted in keeping its relations with and dependence on the ROC,” Poroshenko said, signing the law.
