Cabinet appoints Viktor Yelensky as head of State Ethnopolitics Service
Viktor Yelensky meeting with DESS staff. Photo: dess.gov.ua
On December 19, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved Viktor Yelensky as the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), according to a report on the agency's official website.
Introducing the new head to the DESS staff, Cabinet Minister Oleg Nemchinov emphasized that the President and the government pay special attention to state policy in the field of religion, considering its importance in the context of Ukraine’s European integration.
Viktor Yelensky congratulated the DESS employees and expressed hope for fruitful cooperation.
The new DESS head is a religious scholar, publicist, and politician, holding a Doctor of Philosophy degree and having served as a Member of Parliament in Ukraine’s VIII convocation.
Reminder: On December 6, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed the previous DESS head, Olena Bohdan, and elevated the status of the agency, placing it directly under the Cabinet's authority.
As previously reported by the UOJ, media sources have described the newly appointed head of DESS as an active opponent of the UOC.
Read also
Orthodox and Catholic bishops make joint visit to Mount Athos
The head of the Phanar blessed a joint pilgrimage to Mount Athos by Roman Catholic and Orthodox bishops.
UOC Kryvyi Rih Eparchy marks 30th anniversary
Metropolitan Yefrem led the anniversary Divine Liturgy in Kryvyi Rih.
Ostapenko: Everyone in UCCRO feels fine except the “FSB UOC”
The director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve called the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches “a wonderful organization.”
Khmelnytskyi Eparchy donates funds for treatment of 12-year-old girl
UOC believers raised UAH 20,000 for Anastasiia Mamchur as part of an eparchial charity campaign.
Shevchuk: We had to convince world UOC ban does not violate religious freedom
The UGCC head claims that by banning the UOC, the state is not violating religious freedom but merely protecting the Church’s faithful from Moscow propaganda.
Lavra reserve head estimates damage to Dormition Cathedral at €15 million
Maksym Ostapenko said restoring the Dormition Cathedral would take at least a couple of years and require major funding.