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On August 20, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations.” Considering that the Russian Orthodox Church is the ideological continuation of the regime of the aggressor state and an accomplice in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on behalf of the Russian Federation, its activity on the territory of Ukraine is prohibited. This was reported by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SSSCIR).
The SSSCIR reminded that in Resolution 2540 (2024), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) promptly condemned the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), and the Parliament of Estonia recognized it as terrorist.
According to the Law, religious organizations connected with the ROC must withdraw from its composition. For this, they are given broad opportunities within the framework of a clearly prescribed procedure.
The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience ensures a study, which establishes the presence or absence of inclusion of a particular religious organization in Ukraine in the ROC. In case such inclusion is established, the SSSCIR directs an instruction to this religious organization. For example, representatives of the religious organization are members of the governing bodies of the ROC — its Synod, Council of Bishops, Synodal Commissions, Inter-Council Presence. In such case, the instruction will contain a demand to withdraw from these bodies and provide corresponding evidence. Thus, the provision of the Law on non-permission of activity of religious organizations affiliated with the ROC will not apply to this religious organization.
The religious studies expertise, which was ensured by the SSSCIR at the beginning of 2023, established that the UOC is a part of the ROC. Does this mean that the ban on the activities of the ROC automatically means a ban on the activities of the UOC?
No, it does not mean that. The Law clearly states that the activity of the ROC is prohibited in Ukraine as a foreign religious organization whose center is located in the aggressor country and which is registered in accordance with the legislation of that country. To religious organizations affiliated with the ROC, the above-described procedure will be applied. That is, after receiving the instruction, they must withdraw from the ROC.
If a religious organization refuses to comply with the instruction, the SSSCIR will receive the right to apply to court. And the court — and only the court, as it should be in a democratic society — will decide the issue of terminating this religious organization.
Some commentators insist that the Law means a de facto ban of the UOC because this Church will not be able to fulfill at least one of its requirements. In particular, the Law defines that a sign of affiliation of a religious organization with the ROC is the mention in the ROC’s statute about the inclusion of the UOC in its structure. The provision of the ROC’s statute is outside the sphere of control of the UOC, as such commentators emphasize, and the Moscow Patriarchate is unlikely to agree to remove the mention of the UOC from its statutory documents.
However, such comments arise from inattentive reading of the document. It clearly states that the respective provision does not apply if persons who are members of the governing bodies of the ROC publicly declare their withdrawal from its governing bodies and sever ties with this Church.
On June 1, 2023, in response to a request from hierarchs of the UOC regarding the measures that can be taken so that they are not considered part of the ROC, the SSSCIR in its letter, among other things, indicated the following:
- to publish an official document of the church authority or person(s) authorized to speak on behalf of the UOC about the withdrawal of the UOC with all its dioceses, synodal institutions, deaneries, monasteries, theological educational institutions, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, parishes and missions from the ROC;
- for bishops and clergy of the UOC who are members of the episcopate of the ROC, its Synod, synodal institutions, commissions of the Inter-Council Presence, to send statements about their withdrawal from them and to make these statements public;
- to officially inform the Local Orthodox Churches about the withdrawal of the UOC from the ROC.
Ukraine does not require the UOC either to betray the doctrine of the Orthodox Church, or to change liturgical practices or the language of worship, or to switch to another liturgical calendar. The only requirement insisted upon by the Law is to withdraw from the ROC, which is a participant in the war against Ukraine.
Moreover, history knows that in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and other American colonies, acts were adopted where prayer for the British Parliament and the King of Great Britain was declared treason against the Homeland. It is noteworthy that the Anglican Church, which operated at that time in the United States, recognized it necessary to rename itself to the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA. In this way, it emphasized that it was breaking ties with the Church, which was a bastion of the enemy.
It should be recognized that the Ukrainian authorities have no less grounds for limiting the subversive activity of the ROC on the territory of Ukraine than the bans adopted by the governments of Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and France on wearing burqas in public places or the ban on building minarets in Switzerland.
Thus, the Law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations” pursues a legitimate aim — to prevent the subversive activity of the ROC on the territory of Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church has become the fiercest enemy not only of Ukrainian statehood but also of religious freedom. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the ROC has justified the killings of about 50 priests, theologians, and pastors, some of whom were found in liturgical vestments.
Russian occupiers have completely or partially destroyed more than 630 religious buildings and places of worship. They close prayer houses, persecute believers, and torture religious leaders. In fact, only the ROC can freely operate in the temporarily occupied territories. Many cities, for example, Melitopol, Berdyansk, and others, faced the situation where the ROC seized religious buildings and prayer houses, forcibly expelling the rightful owners from them.
Moreover, the Law is necessary for a democratic society, as it protects the constitutional order, public safety, and fundamental freedoms; achieves its goal in the least burdensome way, as it follows a democratic procedure, and also does not place a burden on the conscience of believers, as subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate is not part of the teaching of the Orthodox Church.
The Law is not aimed at banning any currently functioning church in Ukraine, but it does not allow subordination of religious organizations of Ukraine to centers directed at destroying Ukrainian statehood, culture, identity. The Old Believers’ Church and the True Orthodox Church have already severed ties with centers in the aggressor country.
Ukraine has been and remains proud of its achievements in the field of religious freedom. It had neither banned churches nor closed temples. The Russian invasion, in which the ROC took an active part, forced our country to defend itself from abuse and manipulation of religion by the aggressor state.
Thus, on April 11, 2024, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations stated that no organization — secular or religious — whose center is located on the territory of the aggressor state can operate in Ukraine. On August 16, 2024, at a meeting with the President of Ukraine, members of the AUCCRO confirmed their position and supported the President’s course toward the country’s spiritual independence. At the same time, they emphasized that even in the conditions of a brutal bloody war, religious freedom is respected in Ukraine and not infringed upon.
This position is confirmed by sociological surveys. Thus, according to studies of the Razumkov Center, the majority of respondents answered that there is freedom of conscience in Ukraine. Also, almost 60% of respondents stated that relations between believers of different denominations are normal, and only 4% answered — that they are conflictual.
However, as noted in the latest report of the Pew Research Center, published on March 5, 2024, Ukraine’s indicators on the index of state religious restrictions are not only better compared to post-Soviet countries but also compared to six Western European democracies.
The Law is not a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It only does not allow subordination of religious organizations on the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Church, which has declared a “holy war” against Ukraine.
Let us recall that the Security Service of Ukraine has already initiated many cases against clergymen of the UOC-MP. In particular, 26 specific verdicts have been passed, including against higher clergy who engaged in anti-Ukrainian activities and supported the occupiers.
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