20.12.2018. The Verkhovna Rada passed a law obliging religious organizations whose centers are in the territory of the aggressor country to change the name and mention their belonging to the aggressor country

The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law obliging religious organizations whose centers are in the territory of the aggressor country to change the name and mention their belonging to the aggressor country. The law first of all refers to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which, within 2 months (sanctions for non-compliance must be introduced much later), should be renamed, if this does not happen, the registration of the UOC-MP will be canceled. In case of changing the name, the UOC-MP will retain all privileges granted by the state, but will not be able to send priests to the chaplaincy service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, the change of the name of the UOC-MP may become one of the factors that will stimulate the transition of parishes from the UOC-MP to the newly formed Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

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22.12.2018. The President of Poland Appointed a New Ambassador to Ukraine

President of Poland appointed Bartosz Cichocki as a new Ambassador to Ukraine. The former Ambassador Jan Pieklo made great efforts to strengthen the Ukrainian-Polish relations, but according to Warsaw, he was not tough enough about the historical politics of Kyiv. Bartosz Cichocki, who will be the Republic of Poland’s new Ambassador to Ukraine, previously had served as Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland. He is a supporter of rapprochement with Ukraine, but there is a high probability that his interpretation of the Ukrainian-Polish past history will lead to worsening of bilateral relations.

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11.12.2018. The House of Representatives of the US Congress Recognized the Holodomor as a Genocide against the Ukrainian People

Like the similar resolution passed by the US Senate on October 3, 2018, the document also condemns systematic violations of human rights, including the freedom of self-determination and freedom of speech, committed by the Soviet government against the Ukrainian people. Thus, today both Houses of the US Congress have adopted a decision in which the Holodomor was recognized as a genocide against the Ukrainian people.

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15.12.2018. The Unification Sobor in Kyiv Elected the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Council (Sobor) of Unification elected the Metropolitan of Pereyaslavl and Bila Tserkva Epiphanius (Dumenko) to led the single local Ukrainian Orthodox Church. 192 delegates from the Church hierarchs, priests and parishioners representing three Orthodox churches existing in Ukraine — the UOC-KP, the UAOC and the UOC-MP took part in the Sobor. According to the Kyiv Patriarchate, the first two churches approved participation in the Sobor at the level of their Archierei Councils, while the UOC-MP was represented by individual representatives of the episcopate, clergy and parishioners. Now a long process of unification at the local level will begin in Ukraine.

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