Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced plans for a decision aimed at “bolstering the country’s spiritual independence,” a move that could have significant implications for religious organizations with ties to the Russian government.
In his evening address, Zelensky stated, “I’ve just held a preparatory meeting regarding a decision that will strengthen our Ukrainian spiritual independence. We must deprive Moscow of its last opportunities to restrict the freedom of Ukrainians. The decisions for this must be 100% effective – truly working. We will ensure this.”
This announcement comes amid ongoing discussions in Ukraine over the fate of the Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which has historically had strong ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and is the third largest church in Ukraine after the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
The Ukrainian Parliament has been grappling with legislation aimed at banning the activities of religious organizations linked to Russia, primarily targeting the UOC-MP. On 19 October 2023, the Ukrainian Parliament passed the first reading of a bill that could potentially terminate the activities of the UOC-MP in Ukraine. On 24 July 2024, Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Parliament, announced that while Parliament was not officially on recess, MPs would focus on other activities, including work on the bill to cease UOC-MP operations in Ukraine.
On 23 July, a group of MPs blocked the parliamentary tribune, demanding that the bill to end UOC-MP activities in Ukraine be included on the voting agenda. Stefanchuk later commented that these MPs had warned they would continue to block proceedings until the relevant bill was put to a vote. On 5 March 2024, the Parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy recommended that the Parliament pass this bill in its second reading.
As was previously reported, Ukraine terminated lease agreements with historical churches owned by the state that were leased to the Moscow Patriarchate.
Ukrainian liturgy returns to historical Kyiv monastery after 300 years of ban
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