The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, announced Oct. 19 adoption of Decision Number 8371, which bans religious organizations found to have “colluded with armed aggressors” from operating within the country. The measure is clearly aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of collaborating with Russia. More than 250 Rada members approved the measure, which required only 226 votes.
Lawmaker Iryna Herashchenko called the decision “historic,” marking a first step to “expel Moscow priests from the Ukrainian land,” adding that the measure “is not about religion or [the] church, but about protecting the national security of Ukraine.”
Roughly 16% of Ukrainian citizens follow the church, which is distinct from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The church claims that it is not currently aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church and has disputed the allegations made against it. It further argues that the law may be unconstitutional.
Passage of the law follows the prosecution of church leaders earlier in the year, including the three-year prison sentence of Metropolitan Iosaf, for distributing pro-Russian literature, and the imposition of a 60-day house arrest on Metropolitan Pavel, for promoting “inter-confessional hate” and “supporting Russia’s armed action against Ukraine.”
From Jurist, Oct. 22. Used with permission.
Note: The Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church formally broke from the Moscow Patriarchate in May 2022, citing the pro-war position of Patriarch Kirill. Nonetheless, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree in December enacting a National Security & Defense Council decision to impose sanctions on representatives of religious organizations associated with Russia—clearly aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This March, the Pechersk Lavra, an historic hilltop church in Kyiv, was the scene of a brief stand-off when Ukrainian Orthodox Church followers were ordered to leave the grounds.
The autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine was formed in 1992 after Ukraine’s independence. This revived an autocephalous Ukrainian church that had ceased to exist with the transfer of the Kyiv patriarchate to Moscow in 1685. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church broke from the autocephalous church at this time, continuing to adhere to the Moscow Patriarchate. A third entity, the Ukrainian Uniate Church, dates to 1596, following the Eastern rite but reconizing Rome. Its adherents are mostly in the west of the country.
The Russian Orthodox Church has meanwhile been purging anti-war dissidents. Rev. Ioann Koval was defrocked by the Moscow Patriarchate and went into exile in Istanbul after leading a public prayer for peace in Ukraine at his Moscow parish last September.
Photo of Pechersk Lavra via Wikipedia
Palestine angle in Putin’s religious war?
In October 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople announced he would give the Orthodox Church of Ukraine a tomos, or holy scroll, formally recognizing its independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. Bartholomew followed through on the pledge on Jan. 6 2019. In response, the Russian church severed ties with Constantinople, and has since then been seeking an aly in the Jerusalem Patriarchate, which has consistently supported the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. (HRWF, FT, ER)