SERGIYEV POSAD, July 18. /TASS/. Ukrainian authorities have no right to manage the sacred objects and relics of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), and only the church itself can decide on relocation or export of valuables, Metropolitan Vienijamin, head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, told TASS, commenting on the agreements, achieved between Metropolitans of Kiev and Constantinople regarding the export of UOC valuables for "safekeeping."

"I don’t know if there is a confirmation regarding the handover of the sacred objects and relics, but the very fact of probability of such decision is, of course, unacceptable. It’s one thing if the church asked for it and there were a decision made between church structures. But, if the state decides and hands over - effectively, seizes - the church’s property, then this is, of course, beyond even universal human norms, let alone spiritual laws," the Metropolitan said.