read the proposed changes (in Ukrainian): click here (on this page click
Проект Закону 21.04.2008 to open the word file with said proposal)
to compare the changes (which reference the original constitutional article on religion) to the original: click here (in Ukrainian)
to read about how unhappy the Ukrainian buddhists are about this proposed law (and i totally agree with them), click here. (in English)to compare the changes (which reference the original constitutional article on religion) to the original: click here (in Ukrainian)
the basic gist is a few additions making life harder on newer churches (read non-eastern-orthodox): a proposed annual RE-registration of a new church for the first 10 yrs. of its existence (those of you in Ukraine who are even vaguely familiar with this process know that once is bad enough), and changing the minimum number of citizens necessary to register a church from 10 to 50.
in addition to that there are specific additions to make it harder for foreign leadership within the church (or at least statements which are xenophobic in nature, even if they don't change the actual way things are done). whereas the previous article states only that foreigners are allowed to carry out ministerial functions in the churches that have invited them, the new addition states "foreign citizens do not have the right to take part in the government of religious organizations in Ukraine". also it forbids religious organizations whose "governing center" is not in Ukraine from owning property in Ukraine (implying Roman Catholics with the HQ in Rome or Buddhists with the Dalai Lama in... where is he again? possibly also applying to JW's and Mormons?) This particular law would not so much apply to protestant Christians here, since there is no centralized authority center, but the principle behind it is still one step away from kicking all foreign religious workers out.
this is all suspiciously similar to what is already in place in Russia, stating that only religious organizations having existed in russian territory for 50 yrs. or more have full rights, kicking out foreign missionaries, only allowing the practice of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in all armed services, and generally Putin being the high priest of the Russian Orthodox Church.
BUT in Ukraine the good news is that this amendment is only being proposed. it was given to the Rada (Ukraine's Parliament) on Apr. 21, 2008 by Genadiy Moskal' (see pic below) with a request to take action on it within 2 month's time. That means it may be coming to a vote very soon. so please PRAY that this bill would not be passed (if it is the Lord's will). it would be the beginning of possibly more restrictions on religious freedom in Ukraine. here's the guy who put it forward, pray for his salavation, too. (oddly enough he's not on Yanukovich's team, but in the "Our Ukraine" block (the western-leaning side)).
"The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD,
Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes." -Proverbs 21:1
Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes." -Proverbs 21:1
i'll post something less political next time...
6 comments:
wow man, interesting times. thanks for the update
I see said the...... We will be praying.
wow dad... sounds like craziness... its easy for me to kinda freak out... but its amazing that we can trust our God!!! will be praying...
Wow! I didn't know that. Thanks for letting us know.
Does the U.S. government offer more freedom to foreign nationals in operating religious organizations on U.S. territory? Which of the two is harder to get: a Ukrainian visa for an American national or an American visa for a Ukrainian national?In other words, do we have a level playing field?
@OrthodoxCuriosity - well, actually, yes it does. there is plenty of freedom of religious expression for any nationality in the US. however, the point was not to defend america's policies. the point is that the proposal would remove freedoms from ukrainians in ukraine who are of any other religious persuasion than ukrainian orthodox (this would actually negatively affect even the orthodox churches under the moscow patriarchate). so, it has nothing to do with foriegn countries' policies, but with a proposal to impede ukrainians in their right to freedom of conscience within their own country.
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