The Ukrainian Interchurch Council (UCC), uniting 20 spiritual administrations and Christian movements, about 1,300 churches and about 100,000 members, received state registration as a religious organization and spiritual administration. Accordingly, the organization also acquired the status of a legal entity. Moreover, the history of UMR began almost 20 years ago.

This was discussed at the press conference " A new stage in a long history"

Chairman of the UMR, senior bishop of the Charismatic Evangelical Church of Ukraine Andrey Tishchenko called the legal status a natural result of the Council’s many years of activity. According to him, during a full-scale war, churches significantly expanded their social presence through humanitarian assistance and evangelism..

The participants of the press conference especially emphasized the role of churches in the processes of state building. It was not only about religious activities, but also about the participation of Christian communities in the formation of civil society, state support in war conditions, the development of the volunteer movement, chaplaincy, the provision of humanitarian assistance and the preservation of national identity.

Separately, the participants discussed the service of Christians in the army. Bishop Tishchenko reported that from his association, since the beginning of a full-scale war, about a thousand people have passed through the army. Also, of all the UMR churches, 44 chaplains have authority to serve in the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The head of the Department for Religious Affairs of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Vyacheslav Gorshkov, explained that a chaplain serving in accordance with the law on military chaplaincy is an officer and a full-fledged military personnel.

Deputy Chairman of the UMR, Chairman of the Christian civil movement \! " According to him, most of the churches that are part of the UMR today were formed in the period 1988–1994, and active formalized interaction and the creation of the Ukrainian Interchurch Council occurred about 20 years ago.

President of the Ukrainian Association of Religious Scientists Lyudmila Filipovich emphasized the role of the UMR in the religious pluralism of Ukraine and noted the activity of charismatic churches during the war. " Everyone saw that charismatic churches are people and churches that need to be interacted with,” said Filipovic. According to her, a feature of these churches is the speed of response to public needs..

Vyacheslav Gorshkov called the registration of UMR “a landmark event”. He noted that after the start of the full-scale invasion, the interaction of religious organizations with government agencies increased significantly. Gorshkov also announced the state’s transition to a partnership model of interaction with religious communities.

Participants spoke about the role of churches in preserving Ukrainian identity – in Ukraine and abroad. They also emphasized that in the process of European integration it is extremely important to preserve and protect Christian values \u200b\u200bfundamental to Ukraine, protect the institution of marriage and family.

Bishop Andrei Tishchenko spoke separately about the international advocacy activities of representatives of evangelical churches, in particular in the USA, South America and Africa. Summing up what was said, he emphasized: it is fair and natural that the voice of 1,300 churches of the Ukrainian Interchurch Council should finally be represented in the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations as a full member of this institution.