On March 22, 2022, draft law No. 7204 “On the prohibition of the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of Ukraine” was registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and on March 26, 2022, draft law No. 7213 “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and religious organizations” regarding the prohibition of the activities of religious organizations (associations) that are part of the structure (is part of) a religious organization (association), the leading center (management) of which is located outside Ukraine in a state that is recognized by law as having carried out military aggression against Ukraine and / or temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine.
Considering the content of the bills, the main purpose of their adoption is allegedly “protection of national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and “protection of public safety and order”, which, according to the legislator, can be achieved by banning the activities of the “Moscow Patriarchate – Russian Orthodox Church, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Despite the appeal of the President of Ukraine V.A. Zelensky not to incite religious hatred during the war, the people’s deputies of Ukraine decided, because of legislative initiatives, to brazenly and cynically ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and deprive millions of Ukrainian citizens of the right to freedom of religion.
And although law enforcement agencies did not have any claims against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church regarding the violation of national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the deputies in the explanatory note to the bill deliberately cite false statements against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, trying to mislead the people’s deputies and the Ukrainian society .
Despite all the pathos, these bills see the continuation of the religious policy of the Poroshenko era, which has become one of the reasons for the horrifying times that we are now experiencing, because the ban on the activities of the multimillion-strong Ukrainian Orthodox Church cannot but affect our state painlessly.
In addition, banning people from belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church violates their right to freedom of religion, which is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Constitution of Ukraine.
Please note that the religious center of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is located in Kyiv, registered in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, and its founder is the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which includes clergy and believers living on the territory of Ukraine.
The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine called on all believers to defend our state and defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty, the believers of our Church stood up to defend the country, and religious communities began to provide humanitarian assistance to the army, migrants and all those in need.
From the first days of the war, people showed the unity of our people in the struggle against the enemy. But, as we see today, they are trying to break this unity by provoking disputes on political, linguistic and religious grounds. Indeed, due to the impossibility of winning the battles, the occupiers are attempting sabotage through such bills in order to split the Ukrainian society and weaken our state.
In this regard, we declare that the legislative initiative to ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is illegal, violates the right to freedom of religion, and will in no way contribute to “protecting the national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and “protecting public security and order”, as specified in the bills, but on the contrary, in wartime, it will open a religious front on the peaceful territory of Ukraine and divide our country along religious lines.
