Zelenskyy signs bill that could ban Moscow Patriarchate church into law
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a bill into law banning the activities of religious organizations connected to Russia in Ukraine. Such a document may terminate the activity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, according to the card of the law.
The bill was sent to the president for signature yesterday, August 23, and Zelenskyy signed it on Independence Day, August 24.
The draft law "against the Moscow Patriarchate church"
The Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill that prohibits the activities of religious organizations associated with Russia in Ukraine.
The responsible body should conduct a religious examination of organizations regarding their subordination to centers of influence in the Russian Federation. If there are violations, a prescription is issued to the religious organization to eliminate them. If the organization violates the deadline, they should appeal to the administrative court with a demand to "close" it.
Next, a court session must be held to decide whether or not to ban the religious organization. The religious organization does not mean the entire Moscow Patriarchate church in general, but individual legal entities that represent it. That is, each individual parish, diocese — and further according to the church-administrative hierarchy. As of 2021, the UOC-MP had 12,400 registered organizations in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church stated that they were acting legally within the framework of Ukrainian legislation, and called the decision "blurry." They claim it specifically targets the Moscow Patriarchate, "although the UOC, according to all founding documents, is independent, and not subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate."
After the adoption of the draft law, the UOC-MP declared that "the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will continue to live as a true church, and any attempts to ban it may lead to the discrediting of those who seek it."