Draft law would ban Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine
On October 19, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) voted in favour of a draft law banning all activities of "organisations based in a country waging war against Ukraine". 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 UOC said the draft law would be unconstitutional. The text, which has been presented in a first reading, is currently under revision.
In 1990, the UOC was established under the supervision of the Moscow Patriarchate. Between late 2018 and early 2019, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, granted autocephaly to the UOC, although it remained linked to the Moscow Patriarchate. Since May 2022, all ecclesiastical ties between Russia and Ukraine were severed in response to Russia's invasion that began in February 2022.
For the Ukrainian government and part of the Ukrainian population, this severing of ties never took place, as they perceive the UOC as an accomplice of Russia. This perception led to the vote on this law, which ended with 267 votes in favor and 15 against.
Since the start of the war, Ukraine's security service has reported that 68 criminal cases, including accusations of treason, have been opened against UOC representatives since Russia's invasion last year.
On the other hand, the UOC's reaction is one of perplexity. They insist on their independence from Moscow and denounce this law as an attack on what is defended by the European Court of Human Rights.
Update: On the ground, the conflict between the two churches evolves. According to the synod of the UOC on April 10, its churches are being re-registered in favour of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). UOC, UOJ
Sources: The Guardian; VOA news; Warsaw Institute; United States Institute of Peace
Picture: Wiki Commons