Religious organizations call for their right to permanent use of land to be reinstated

On 2 October leaders of major denominations – members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations sent an appeal to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, leaders of parliamentary fractions and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine asking that they support the draft law “On introducing amendments to Article 92 of the Land Code of Ukraine” on the right of religious organizations to permanently use land (Registered as No. 1110, tabled by the State Deputy V.M. Sretovych).

The appeal is signed by the heads of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate,the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,  the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Baptist Christians, the Church of Evangelical Christians of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church, the Association of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Union Conference, the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Ukrainian Lutheran Church.

The appeal states that “these legislative amendments are extremely important and relevant for Ukrainian society since it is churches and religious organizations which are carrying out wide-scale and regular work in the area of ensuring the spiritual and moral development of society, which the state cannot cope with except through cooperation with religious institutions”. The members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations comment that the need at the present time to approve such legislative amendments is manifest and exceedingly important due to the special non-profit making status of churches and religious organizations and the need for the state to create conditions for the spiritual, moral and social pastoral services of religious organizations.

The draft law “On introducing amendments to Article 92 of the Land Code of Ukraine” on the right on the right of religious organizations to permanently use land is expected to be considered shortly by the Verkhovna Rada.