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The Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, has adopted a law allowing a ban on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The law was backed by 265 MPs with 226 needed for a majority.
The chairman of the Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said that as a result of the adoption of this law, the UOC "will be prohibited", and that "the bill provides for its immediate ban." The law is expected to come into force 30 days after its publication. The move is the latest example of the outright disdain for democratic values and the freedom of religion exemplified by the regime of Ukraine’s unelected leader Volodomir Zelensky.
The bill was drafted on direct instructions from Zelensky. It passed a first reading in the Rada in October 2023, but a second reading was delayed due to fears that it would not have enough votes from MPs and that it would cause discontent in the West. On 16 August 2024, final amendments to the document were made, giving it a new Orwellian name, “For the protection of constitutional order in the field of religious organizations.”
The new state sponsored church organized by the Ukrainian regime had forcibly taken over the churches of the UOC, as well as those of ethnic minorities, and attacked priests. Local authorities deprived the canonical church of the right to lease land to churches. The Security Service of Ukraine, as of November 2023 admitted that authorities have opened 70 criminal cases against the clergy of the UOC, 19 of which resulted in convictions and stripping the clergy of citizenship, something unheard of in the civilized world.
Bulgarian opposition leader Kostadin Kostadinov harshly criticized the move, stating “the so-called Western world brings to light another war hidden behind the conventional war – the war against the Orthodox world. What is happening in Ukraine will have an impact on all Orthodox churches because they are connected to each other.”
