Ukrainian parliament to consider ban on Russian-aligned church next month

A bill prohibiting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate will be the first law on the agenda at the next parliamentary session.

Jul 25, 2024 - 07:19

Ukrainian parliament to consider ban on Russian-aligned church next month

A bill to ban the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which was out of the voting agenda on 23 July, will be considered first at the next parliamentary meeting, approximately in mid-August, said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, Mykyta Poturaiev, according to UkrInform.

Two-thirds of Ukrainians, or 66%, believe that the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, linked with Moscow, should be banned.

The Russian Orthodox Church has been accused of being a tool of the Kremlin to advance its political interests and infiltrate other countries. It is often blamed for hypocrisy by weaponizing faith to undermine democracies, while Moscow disregards religious freedom.

Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill has supported the Kremlin’s aggressive war in Ukraine, while its priests consecrate weapons that the invaders use to attack the country.

The Russian church continues operating in Ukraine as it is impossible to ban religious organizations straightaway. However, Ukrainian priests have said they refuse to support Russia’s war and have cut ties with Moscow church leadership.

In practice, many Russian churches and their employees continue their subversive activities covertly and persist in spreading propaganda among believers.

On 23 July, after the parliament’s vote to extend martial law, representatives of Ukrainian factions blocked the parliament’s rostrum, demanding that the bill banning religious organizations associated with the Russian Federation must be considered immediately.

Later, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said that the coordination council of parliamentary factions – a body for preliminary preparation and consideration of organizational issues of the Ukrainian parliament – decided that the Verkhovna Rada would not work this week. The reason was the reluctance of some deputies to consider the bill banning the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church

Mykyta Poturaiev called the coordination council’s decision not to bring the bill on the Russian church ban a mistake.

“At the coordination council, they voted against putting the bill on the agenda. They mistakenly believed that there would not be enough votes for this bill. And this bill is so politically sensitive that it should be put forward when representatives are absolutely sure that it will have enough votes,” Poturaiev explained.

According to him, there were enough votes to pass the bill, but the coordination council planned to consider this issue at the next plenary session.

On 19 October 2023, the Verkhovna Rada passed this bill in the first reading. It provides for the prohibition of activities of religious organizations whose governing center is located in a state that is carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine. Additionally, according to the bill, the activities of a religious organization can be terminated in court at the request of an authorized central government body.

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