Ban on the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for allegedly following the Russian Orthodox Church
Ukrainian lawmakers have banned the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accusing it of following the Russian Orthodox Church.
Most Ukrainian Christians are Orthodox, divided into two branches: the Russian Orthodox Church and an independent church recognized by the world Orthodox hierarchy since 2019. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church officially severed ties with the Russian Orthodox Church last year, but the Ukrainian government has accused the church of spreading Kremlin narratives and collaborating with Russian forces in occupied territories.
Ukrainian lawmakers have passed a bill banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accusing it of following the Russian Orthodox Church. “The Ukrainian parliament has passed a bill banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has canonical legitimacy,” a Ukrainian lawmaker told Russia Today. The law will come into effect 30 days after its publication.
Alexei Chepa, a Russian lawmaker and deputy chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, said regarding the passage of the bill: "The ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reflects discrimination against believers and also demonstrates political oppression and genocide of Orthodox Ukrainians."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said in response to the ban: "Orthodoxy is being destroyed in Ukraine. The goal is to destroy true, canonical Orthodoxy and replace it with a false church and create a pseudo-Orthodox church."
Sergei Mironov, a party leader in Russia and deputy speaker of the country's Duma, also reacted to the bill, saying: "The ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the country's parliament is the latest step towards turning Ukraine into an autocratic country under the dictatorship of neo-Nazis."
