The Zelensky government is preparing a bill that would ban the operation of Moscow-affiliated Orthodox structures in Ukraine.
According to a report in the New York Times, the Ukrainian president announced in a recent speech that his government will draft a bill that "would make it impossible for religious organizations linked to centers of influence in the Russian Federation to operate in the country." In doing so, however, the paper points out, Zelensky is targeting a powerful cultural force in the country that many Ukrainian officials see as aiding and abetting the Russian invaders.
As Zelensky pointed out, he has already ordered an investigation into the operation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and its ties to the Russian government and, if necessary, "measures will be taken under the law." The Ukrainian president did not, however, specify how the new law would work, whether, for example, this particular church structure would be judged as a whole or each parish individually, and many academics believe that its implementation could face many legal obstacles, the columnist notes.
"For centuries the ancient Ukrainian branch of the church was part of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church. The head of the Russian Church, Patriarch Kirill, is closely linked to the Russian president, whose long tenure he has called a miracle of God, and he himself has supported the invasion," the New York Times adds. "Yet that branch of Orthodoxy is rapidly losing supporters, and many Ukrainians have now joined a newer Orthodox church, based in Kiev, created specifically to be independent and not reporting to Moscow."
Officials in Russia were quick to condemn the Ukrainian prime minister's plans. "The current government in Ukraine is now openly hostile to Christ and the Orthodox faith," commented Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and adviser to Vladimir Putin, who has described those in power in Kiev as "Nazis" and "Satanists."
About two-thirds of Ukrainians identify themselves as Orthodox Christians in public opinion surveys. This percentage has not changed much for decades, yet it is distributed differently. Steadily fewer declare allegiance to the Moscow-affiliated church and an increasing number are moving closer to the newly independent Ukrainian church. Also, many Ukrainians now simply declare themselves Orthodox, without declaring allegiance to any particular church.
In 2019, Orthodox leaders internationally officially recognized the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a move that provoked strong reactions from the Russian church. Thousands of parishes have switched allegiance to the new branch, though thousands more remain loyal to Moscow, the paper notes. Although it declared independence from the Moscow Patriarchate after the invasion and renounced the war, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate remains suspect in the eyes of the Ukrainian government.
Source: protothema.gr
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