20.06, [08:56] // Press-releases // Taras_H
 On June 19, 2008, on the premises of the religious mission of Caritas-Spes Ukraine, a meeting of heads and delegated representatives of Churches in the format of a Conference of Representatives of the Christian Churches of Ukraine, which was conducted with the presiding of a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, Markiyan Trofymyak, was held. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a number of questions on the co-operation of the state and the Churches, in particular problems of morality and the instructional process in educational institutions, and the plan for the legislation of church-state relations in Ukraine and legislation regarding the activity of the Churches. The Institute of Religious Freedom reported to the Information Department.
Participants of the meeting discussed achievements regarding constitutional proposals in the sphere of freedom of religion and the activity of religious organizations. The spiritual leaders of the country also confirmed again the necessity of accepting a developed edition of the plan of church-state relations in Ukraine worked out jointly by representatives of the Churches, the state authorities, and the Razumkov Center, which, in their conviction, should become the basis of future changes of legislation about freedom of conscience and religious organizations.
In addition to this, according to a report of the Institute of Religious Freedom, leaders of the Churches assessed positively the results of the teaching in general educational institutions of courses of a moral-ethical direction, such as «Christian ethics» and «Basics of Christian ethics in Ukrainian culture,» and noted the importance of the moral education of children on the basis of generally-agreed Christian values not only in classes 5 and 6 but from an earlier age. In this context the problem of propagating violence, cruelty, alcohol, an immoral way of life, and irresponsible relations to the family which is observed on television, radio, in the press, in commercial publicity campaigns, and other areas was separately discussed.
After the results of the meeting of representatives of the Christian Churches of Ukraine, methods of cooperation with representatives of the state authorities in the discussed problems of public life were determined, and also the question of subsequent co-operation of Churches was decided and the next meeting was planned, at which the Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Lubomyr, will preside.
Heads and delegated representatives of the following took part in the meeting: Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, All Ukrainian Union of the Community of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church, and the Brotherhood of Independent Churches and Missions of Evangelical Christians–Baptists of Ukraine.
Information Department of the UGCC
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