During a conference on 28 March 2004 in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on “Human Rights in the International and Ukrainian Context,” representatives of the Church of Scientology announced their plans to register their own church.
“We are currently in the process of registering a church,” said Dmytro Tsymbalist, spiritual leader of the Church of Scientology in Kyiv. “Today, we don’t have any difficulties with this and only need time to consider the documents. We also have a small apartment where people gather and make confessions,” he added.
According to Ukraine’s legislation, the statutes of religious organizations in Ukraine are registered by the National Committee on Religious Matters.
According to the information agency “ForUm,” certain political forces can use the Church of Scientology, which the agency describes as scandalously notorious, before the upcoming elections. The agency also maintains it is not clear why the Church of Scientology decided to register its community in Ukraine now. In Russia, the rush around this religious organization ended about five years ago.