In a significant parliamentary decision on Thursday, the Ukrainian government has advanced legislation with the potential to prohibit the Moscow-associated Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The move comes in the wake of allegations that the UOC has been engaged in collaboration with Russia, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
It is essential to distinguish the UOC from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), as the former asserts that it has severed its ties with the Russian Orthodox Church and vehemently denies the accusations brought forth by Kyiv. The proposed law, which received overwhelming support in its initial reading, now awaits a second reading and the approval of the president to be enacted.
The legislation seeks to ban the activities of religious organizations linked to entities operating in a state actively involved in armed aggression against Ukraine. Such activities could potentially be terminated through legal channels.
Iryna Herashchenko, a lawmaker, hailed the vote as a historic step towards the removal of “Moscow priests from the Ukrainian land.” The UOC has contested the draft law, contending that it runs afoul of the European Convention on Human Rights and Ukraine’s constitution.
Asserting its autonomy and separate identity, the UOC has accused Kyiv of misrepresenting it as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, portraying its Ukrainian clergy and adherents as “agents of the Russian Federation.”
Ukrainian authorities and a significant portion of the population had long perceived the UOC as being loyal to Moscow, and after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, they initiated crackdowns on the church.
Despite the UOC’s declaration of severing ties with the Russian Orthodox Church in May 2022, a government commission has ruled that it remains canonically linked to Russia. The UOC’s second most senior priest, Metropolitan Pavlo, is currently under suspicion of inciting inter-religious hatred and disseminating materials that justify Russian aggression, allegations he vehemently denies.
Notably, Ukraine’s Security Service has initiated 68 criminal cases against UOC representatives, including charges of treason, since Russia’s invasion last year.
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko has suggested that a ban on the UOC is unlikely to halt its activities and could face challenges within Ukraine and at the European Court of Human Rights. Fesenko proposed that the church might consider registering as a new entity entirely, with no reference to canonical ties with Russia.
As the situation unfolds, it remains a complex and delicate matter, one that has the potential to have far-reaching consequences for the religious landscape in Ukraine.
By Reuters
