Ukraine bans Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Ukrainian lawmakers have approved a bill banning the Russian Orthodox Church. The text targets the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate and has raised concerns about the safeguarding of religious freedom in Ukraine. The law requires the UOC to cut all ties with the Russian Orthodox Church or face a process that would lead to its dissolution.
The law was signed by Ukrainian's President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 25, Ukraine’s Independence Day, after being passed by the Ukrainian Parliament on 20 August with 265 MPs voting in favour and 29 against. A draft law was previously passed by the Ukrainian parliament in October 2023 (OIDAC reported).
The law comes after growing concerns over the UOC's affiliation and the alleged involvement of several UOC bishops and priests in crimes against national security. However, the banning of the entire denomination has been met with great concern by religious freedom groups and religious leaders.
The religious freedom watchdog group Forum18 called the blanket ban on the UOC "neither reasonable nor proportionate" Forum 18 also noted that UOC clergy and believers of the UOC have been punished for often harsh rhetoric against the independent Orthodox Church of Ukrainian (OCU, which is recognised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople). "However, OCU clerics and believers are rarely punished for often harsh rhetoric against the UOC", Forum 18 said. Many UOC clerics have, furthermore, been prosecuted for criticising the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the state's religious policies.
Pope Francis has also expressed concern about religious freedom in Ukraine. "Let those who want to pray be able to pray in the church they consider theirs," the pope said. "Please let no Christian church be abolished directly or indirectly: the churches are not to be touched."
UOC Metropolitan Klyment reiterated that the church had no links with "foreign centers" and criticized the bill as targeting the church's property and discrediting those wanting to implement it. "The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will continue to live as a true church, recognized by the vast majority of practicing Ukrainian believers and churches of the world," he told Hromadske TV.
Sources: Forum 18, Reuters, Evangelische Zeitung, Usccb.org