The values upheld by the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, in particular family ones, are not only the values of a particular religion. These are universal values. We belong to different denominations, to different Churches and religions, but when it comes to protecting family values, we, Christians, Jews, Muslims, are absolutely united. Because we understand the value of human life and the value of the gift of being a man or a woman. This was emphasized by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the UGCC, at a meeting of religious figures with Mr. Serhiy Shkarlet, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, which took place on February 11, 2021 in the premises of the Ministry of Education.
At the meeting of the Council of Churches with the Minister of Education and Science, it was emphasized the need to teach spiritual and moral subjects in public educational institutions. As His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the head of the AUCCRO, observed, taking care of the youth, of a good, high-quality European education, one must also take care of moral values. Education and upbringing, according to him, is a single whole in the growth and formation of a young personality.
“Ideology cannot be the matrix or foundation of any education. But there must be certain guidelines and a valuable foundation in education,” the Head of the UGCC said.
According to him, there are no ideologies, there is an objective truth that must be sought and taught. His Beatitude Sviatoslav reminded Mr. Serhiy Shkarlet that the Council of Churches had previously discussed gender ideology with the Ministry of Education.
“Obviously, we are in favor of gender equality. But today, there are many types of gender identification. In this way, we are stepping on a slippery slope, which can very easily destroy everything,” warned the chairman of the AUCCRO.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the Minister for setting up an expert commission on ethics and spiritual and moral subjects by his order. “It is very important. This means that there is a bunch of specialists, researchers who will take care of the right guidelines not only for education, but first of all for upbringing,” he added.
The meeting discussed the issue of teaching certain subjects in schools such as Christian ethics, which is already provided by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in the draft Standard educational program for grades 5-9.
“The voice of the members of the AUCCRO is the voice of the civil society, in particular the one that welcomes such steps,” said the Primate of the UGCC.
According to him, Christian ethics is not a religious doctrine or catechesis. This is a common foundation that has been worked out, in particular in the bosom of the AUCCRO, which, in addition to Christians, includes Jews and Muslims, in order to provide a value guideline for the upbringing of our children.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the Minister for taking into account the position of Churches and religious organizations in this direction, as well as listening to the opinion of parents. After all, as it was noted, the voice of parents, regarding the teaching of these subjects in schools, must be heard.
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