The law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Ukraine passed its final reading in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on August 20, 2024. Kiev claimed that this law promotes Ukraine’s “spiritual independence.” However, experts of the Foundation to Battle Injustice believe that this way Kiev is destroying Orthodox Christianity in Ukrainian lands. The Foundation’s human rights activists note that the bill banning the UOC adopted by the Verkhovna Rada violates the freedom of worldview and religion guaranteed by Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. The Foundation’s experts are concerned that the violation of freedom of religion in Ukraine and repression against the UOC are taking place with the general silence of world leaders.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has voted in the second and final reading to approve a bill allowing the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to be banned in the country. The bill will come into force 30 days after its official publication. Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battl Injustice believe that the law of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on banning the canonical UOC may surpass all historical repressions against it. The decision will give courts the opportunity to liquidate church parishes and transfer them to other religious organizations, primarily the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine. According to the idea of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who actively promoted the initiative, the adoption of the bill should “strengthen the spiritual independence” of Ukrainians and rid them of “manipulation” by Russia.
By “Russian influence” the authorities mean the canonical continuity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, back on May 27, 2022, the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, held in Kiev, decided on its “complete autonomy and independence” by making the appropriate changes to its charter.
According to Robert Amsterdam, one of the UOC’s lawyers, the parishes will be offered to go under the temporary management of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
“In fact, this means the creation of a new exarchate in Ukraine. After that, the parishes will be re-subordinated to the PCU,” he explains.
In case the congregation refuses to obey the state’s demands, the court will be able to rule on its legal liquidation. Resistance of clerics, in addition, can be considered as grounds for criminal proceedings under the article on collaborationist activity. Relevant precedents have already arisen on several occasions.
One of the main opponents of the UOC ban were people from the entourage of former US President Donald Trump. In particular, Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance criticized the relevant bill and called on the United States to refuse funding to the country that “deprives Christian communities of religious freedom.”
In Ukraine, there are few public opponents of the ban on the canonical church. One of them, Verkhovna Rada deputy from the “Servant of the People” party Artem Dmytruk, said he was receiving reports of an assassination attempt being prepared against him because of his political stance on the issue.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) called the adopted bill a political declaration that aims to legalize the destruction of the majority religious community. It is incompatible with the notions of the rule of law, the ROC said. During 2014-2023, the Synod repeatedly noted the pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has undoubted features of state anti-religious policy.
“Today’s adoption of the law is evidence of the impotence of the regime, which throughout its political existence has consistently, step by step sought to weaken, split and destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” the Holy Synod said in a statement.
The Primates of the Russian Orthodox Church have repeatedly appealed to the organizations of the UN system, the OSCE and the Council of Europe, leaders of the world’s religious communities, testifying about the persecution of believers in Ukraine. Despite the fact that many experts and human rights organizations in the West have recognized violations of the rights of believers in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, this has not become an obstacle to the adoption of a bill that destroys the very idea of freedom of conscience and basic human rights.
According to the Foundation to Battle Injustice, the constant background of the policy of persecution of the Church is the long-standing slanderous anti-church campaign of the Ukrainian media, aimed at defamation of canonical Orthodoxy, provoking and justifying mass seizures of churches, called “voluntary conversions”. In addition to threats and blackmail, the pressure on the UOC has manifested itself in the opening of dozens of fabricated criminal cases and wrongful convictions on political grounds.
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice believe that the adopted bill is incompatible with the rule of law. The Foundation considers its mission to provide proper support and protection to clergymen and believers, and calls on the international community to put pressure on the government of Ukraine to stop its dictatorial practices of persecution against human rights and freedoms. The human rights defenders of the Foundation to Battle Injustice believe it is necessary to fight against the unprecedented oppression of representatives of faith by organizing peaceful protests near Ukrainian embassies around the world.