UKRAINE: Does the UOC maintain ties with the Moscow Patriarchate?
The official investigation by the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) is going on
By Dr Ievgeniia Gidulyanova for Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (30.05.2025) – On May 20, 2025, the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) launched a study into the status of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The primary goal is to determine whether the UOC’s activities show signs of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), whose activities are banned in Ukraine.
This procedure is conducted in accordance with Law №3894-IX “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Activities of Religious Organizations,” adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on August 20, 2024. The law grants the state the authority to restrict or prohibit the activities of religious organizations whose governing centers are located in an aggressor state.
The law states that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is recognized as an ideological instrument of the aggressor state, an accomplice in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on behalf of the Russian Federation within the framework of the “Russian World” concept. Accordingly, any activity of the ROC in Ukraine is prohibited.
Legal Basis and Verification Mechanism
The investigation is being carried out within the framework of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” and the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution №543 dated May 9, 2025. This resolution regulates the procedure for identifying signs of affiliation of Ukrainian religious organizations with foreign entities whose activities are banned in Ukraine.
In this regard, the DESS head Viktor Yelensky stated that the department will file a lawsuit for the liquidation of religious organizations that will not comply with the order to eliminate signs of affiliation with a banned foreign religious organization.
However, if the order is fulfilled and the signs of affiliation are eliminated, that is, if the organization breaks its administrative connection and withdraws from the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), then other measures will not be applied to this religious organization.
“If there is no connection, then no further actions will be applied. If it is connected, then the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience must issue an order to the organization that will say what exactly this affiliation and connection is, he said”
UOC’s Position: Statement on Separation
In an address on May 17, 2025, Metropolitan Onufriy recalled that back on May 27, 2022, at the Council in Kyiv (Feofaniya), the UOC introduced changes to its Statute aiming at full canonical separation from the ROC. References to subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate were removed, the requirement to receive the blessing of Patriarch Kirill was abolished, and the name of the Moscow Patriarch is no longer commemorated during the worship service in the churches and monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“The Council introduced a number of fundamental changes to the Statute on Governance, which confirmed the complete canonical independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its disassociation from the Moscow Patriarchate,” reads the Metropolitan’s statement.
Metropolitan Onufriy, the head of the UOC, also emphasized that the UOC independently manages all aspects of its internal and external life, including the appointment of bishops, the establishment of dioceses, and the production of holy myrrh.
He asserts that after May 27, 2022, his Church is no longer part of the Moscow Patriarchate and hopes that “the whole family of Autocephalous Local Churches” will acknowledge their “canonical independence.”
Debate Over Actual Independence
Despite UOC’s declarations, legal and political debates continue over the Church’s actual status.
Member of Parliament Mykola Kniazhytskyi, one of the initiators of Law No. 3894-IX, stated: “Russia used the Orthodoxy under its control as a tool of militarization, turning it into a neurotropic weapon.”
He added that religious studies experts from the state agency on ethnic policy clearly pointed to links between the UOC and the ROC.
In his view, most UOC bishops will never break away from Moscow. “They are dependent on it, receive funding, hold Russian passports, etc. In the nine months since the law ‘On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Activities of Religious Organizations’ was adopted, only a small number of UOC-MP communities have joined the OCU. This is partly due to the government’s delay in adopting implementing regulations,” he notes.
Kniazhytskyi also emphasized that the UOC Statute, even after the 2022 amendments, lacks a clear provision on autocephaly, which makes unequivocal separation from the ROC impossible.
Some experts and government officials point out that the UOC has not received a tomos of autocephaly and has also broken communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This may indicate continued dependence on Moscow despite formal changes.
Course of the Investigation: DESS Actions
During the investigation, the DESS has the authority to:
- Request necessary documents from government agencies, legal entities, and individuals;
- Use data from public registries, religious studies expertise, media, and open sources;
- Conduct interviews with clergy and employees of the religious organization using recording equipment.
If signs of affiliation are found, an order is issued that must be complied with within 30 days. A report on the elimination of violations must be submitted to the DESS along with supporting evidence or objections. In some cases, the deadline may be extended to 60 days.
If the order is not implemented, the DESS declares that the organization is affiliated with a foreign religious body whose activity is banned in Ukraine. The decision is made public, forwarded to local authorities and the State Property Fund, and a lawsuit is filed to terminate the religious organization.
Consequences of a Ban
Once an organization is declared affiliated:
- All legal actions related to the use of state or communal property are suspended;
- Lease agreements are terminated immediately;
- The religious organization’s property cannot be alienated until its subordination status is changed;
- Contacts with the foreign religious organization are prohibited without the DESS authorization;
- Legal entities affiliated with such an organization must change their list of founders within three months or face liquidation.
Once a court decision terminating the religious organization is issued, a liquidation commission is appointed.
Human Rights at the Center
The law does not provide for the automatic ban on religious activities or rites. It addresses organizations that may serve as instruments of influence for the aggressor state. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supported the law as a means of ensuring national security in the religious sphere.
Human rights organizations call for maintaining a balance between security and freedom of religion, stressing the importance of legal clarity, transparency, and non-discrimination of believers.
Conclusion
As of May 2025, no court decision has been issued to ban the UOC. The investigation remains ongoing and is part of a lawful procedure. Its outcomes will form the basis for further decisions—either to end the inquiry or initiate legal proceedings.
The situation remains open. All parties—the state, the Church, civil society—have the opportunity to act within the framework of the law. This is the main guarantee of both the rule of law and interfaith peace in Ukraine.
Photo: Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Credit: РЕЛІГІЙНА ПРАВДА)
