Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said it is necessary to improve legislation on religious matters to allow believers to pray where they wish.
According to the president, the legislation should provide such an opportunity for all believers, regardless of their denomination.
“People should have the right to pray where they wish,” the presidential press service quoted him as saying.
The presidential press service noted that the current legislation states the need for obtaining official permission for worship service, if it is held not in specially designated places.
“We need to relax the legislation requirements and ensure believers have an opportunity to pray where they wish,” he said.
Yanukovych said that he treated all churches with equal respect.
Early this month, the Culture Ministry told head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) that priests need official permission to hold services in places such as Independence Square in Kyiv. The ministry said that a failure to comply with these requirements might be the grounds for a court ruling to suspend the activities of relevant religious organizations.
The ministry’s warning was a response to services held by Greek Catholic clergy on Independence Square during current pro-European Union demonstrations.
