13:15 25.12.2018

Former Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate to appeal law on renaming it in Constitutional Court

2 min read

The Former Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate plans to go to Ukraine's Constitutional Court to appeal a law that obliges it to include affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church in its name.

"We intend to defend our rights by all legal methods. We forwarded a request to the president of Ukraine, asking him to use his veto right, but, as we can see, he hasn't used this right... Since it is a violation of constitutional norms and principles, we are initiating an appeal to the Constitutional Court," the website of the church's synodal information and awareness raising department quoted the church's chief lawyer, Alexander Bakhov, as saying.

"After this law enters into force and after it starts to be applied in practice, it will give a broader understanding as to what we can do to defend our rights," Bakhov said.

As reported, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed into law a bill on December 22, obliging the former Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to indicate affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church in its name. The Verkhovna Rada passed this bill on December 20.

MPs from the Opposition Bloc faction earlier announced their plans to ask the Prosecutor General's Office and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to respond to irregularities that may have accompanied the parliament's adoption of the above mentioned bill.

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