During the existence of the Orthodox Church, which is already about two thousand years old, many forms of social and state structure, political and economic systems have changed. From this it is obvious, as written in the message of the Local Council of the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate (July 15, 2004), that the Church not only cannot according to state laws, but also should not by virtue of its special nature be tied to fleeting political issues or views. At the same time, the Church does not stand aside from society, and its political problems, which often have a moral nature, should be a subject of judgment not only for politicians but also for the Church. The Law of Ukraine on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations (Article 5) unequivocally prohibits religious organizations from participating in the activities of political parties and conducting agitation for certain candidates for state positions. But throughout the entire history of independent Ukraine, and especially recently, the nature of church-state relations reveals a pronounced mutual desire of leaders of political structures and certain church hierarchs to make the Orthodox Church, which invariably has the greatest trust of society, an instrument of serious influence on voters in the struggle for the highest state position. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (as well as the Catholic and Protestant churches of Ukraine) has repeatedly emphasized the inadmissibility of agitation by religious organizations for a specific presidential candidate. Instead, the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, which previously did not object to having the position of a PR component of various parties (in particular the godless communist one), using mass media, distribution of printed materials, and sometimes outright political "sermons" during the Divine Liturgy, consistently and openly agitates for one of the candidates. Recently in Volyn this Church widely distributed an appeal of the Union of Orthodox Citizens of Ukraine "The Orthodox Church in Danger!" (appendix), in which one of the candidates for the position of president is horribly slandered, and another is unconditionally glorified. In connection with the cynical violation of both the Law of God and the laws of Ukraine, the Volyn Diocesan Administration of the Kyiv Patriarchate: categorically condemns such actions of the Moscow Church and emphasizes that the activity uncharacteristic of a religious organization by the UOC MP compromises both itself and other confessions and religion as such. The Diocesan Administration calls on the faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate to come to their senses and once again expresses and emphasizes its own official position regarding the election campaign. 1. An excerpt from the message of the Holy Local Council of the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate, which took place on July 15, 2004 in Kyiv, calls: "Each of the citizens of our country, including the faithful of the Kyiv Patriarchate, has the right and duty to freely cast their vote in the elections of the President of Ukraine for the candidate for this position who, in their opinion, is most worthy to lead our state. Violation of the right to free choice, which also includes manipulation of the results of the people's will, is not only an act punishable by state laws but also a contempt for the Law of God, and therefore everyone who dares to commit such a violation awaits the impartial judgment of God." 2. The criteria which, according to the message of the same Council, must be taken as the basis for one's choice of the President of Ukraine: "Leadership of the Ukrainian people requires from the one who wants to take this burden of service upon himself not only proper administrative skills but also high spiritual and moral qualities. The foremost among them should be love for one's people and one's state, the desire to care for the strengthening of sovereignty, political and economic independence of Ukraine, the elevation of the spirituality of the Ukrainian people on the basis of traditional Christian and universal values." 3. In an interview with "Hromadske Radio," the head of the Kyiv Patriarchate, His Holiness Patriarch Filaret, stated: "We do not restrict the will of our believers, they can vote for one or another party, but we ask that they adhere to the principle of protecting the interests of the Ukrainian state and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate." 4. The position regarding the election campaign of His Grace Bishop Michael of Lutsk and Volyn: "The Orthodox Church has no right to compromise its holiness and purity by openly promoting a specific person who seeks to attain higher state positions. Since in the future it may happen that it, in view of its own spiritual weakness, by its activity may undermine the Divine authority of this community established by the Almighty. The only thing the Church can and should do is to point to the general qualities that a candidate for a high position should possess from the point of view of Orthodox doctrine and tradition, as well as to pray for fair elections and the free will of citizens." 5. The above-mentioned statement of the Volyn Diocesan Administration of the Kyiv Patriarchate in no way reveals bias toward presidential candidates, respecting the choice of millions of their supporters, but only emphasizes that position of the Orthodox Church regarding the election campaign which should be in accordance with Christian doctrine and the legislation of Ukraine. After the speech, the press secretary answered questions from journalists who were interested in: what, in the opinion of the Kyiv Patriarchate, caused such activity of the Moscow Church, what are the facts of its illegal political activity, how influential or harmful such a position of the MP is for its faithful, and other matters.