Patriarch Lubomyr at roundtable: "The state wants to control the church because it is afraid of it"

"The state wants to control the church because it is afraid of it. Why? Because the church, even at the social level, defends freedoms, educates conscious, responsible citizens, and is unprofitable for the state authority," the head of church His Beatitude Lubomyr said today in Kyiv at a roundtable discussion "Church-State Relations in Ukraine: Specificities and Tendencies of Development," organized by the Razumkov Center. In his introduction, the head of the UGCC said that both the church and the state serve the same people so they must be considered partners. Each has its sphere of activities and must respect the parallel structure and not interfere. "Since we are talking about structural units, their relations can be regulated through legislation, by setting boundaries of responsibility and interaction. In an ideal society the two partners complement each other," said His Beatitude Lubomyr. According to the hierarch, as centuries of bitter experience show, there are many negative consequences of the state using the church as a division of its structure, or vice versa—a religious organization seeking to control the society by government agencies, restricting freedoms and rights. Considering the social aspect of the question, the head of church stressed that the church is a community that consists of people and that works for the people. He said it differs from other communities of God such as family, community, nation, and state, especially by its religious mission. The head of the church underlined that the Lord expects mercy, truth and justice from those who bear any responsibility. According to the patriarch, another task of the church – even in today’s injustice and unfairness – is to preach hope in God, in God's peace,” said the head of the UGCC at the roundtable. The meeting was held as part of the permanent roundtable "Religion and Power in Ukraine: Problems in Relations,” which is conducted by the Razumkov Center. It was attended by representatives of churches and religious organizations, the government, the academic community, people’s deputies, and representatives of the public.   Information Department of the UGCC