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Church value: the Russian Federation is ready to raise the issue of persecution of the UOC again
The restoration of the rights of the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine is one of the conditions for discussing security guarantees. This was stated to Izvestia by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. According to him, this is a key element of Moscow's position in negotiations with Kiev. Since last year, a law has been in force that effectively prohibits the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Now the authorities want to initiate a trial in the case of the termination of the activities of the UOC, which is scheduled to begin next month. In case of a positive decision, the UOC will lose its legal registration, and its property, assets and funds will be confiscated in favor of the state. Criminal liability for violating the ban is not excluded, experts say.
The trial against the UOC
The pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is turning into a legal dimension. The country's state service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience has filed a lawsuit to liquidate the UOC. The ministry demanded that the church's property, funds and other assets be transferred to state ownership, declaring the UOC an organization affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
The first court session was scheduled to take place on September 30, but it was postponed for a month due to the judge's illness. However, postponing the consideration of the case does not mean canceling the authorities' commitment to criminalize the activities of the UOC. Vladimir Zelensky had previously accused her of having "ties to the KGB," justifying legislative measures against the canonical church. A year ago, the law "On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the sphere of religious organizations" came into force in Ukraine, which actually prohibits the UOC.
Negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine with the participation of the Turkish representatives at the Chiragan Palace in Istanbul
Russia raised the issue of protecting Orthodox believers in Ukraine at the talks in Istanbul. This is one of Moscow's key priorities in its dialogue with Kiev, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Izvestia.
— We insist that Russia's security interests be ensured in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis in the form of a neutral, non-aligned, nuclear-weapon-free status of Ukraine. And of course, one of the key elements of our position is to ensure the rights of the Russian and Russian—speaking population of Ukraine in full. This includes the restoration of the rights of the Orthodox Church, which are grossly violated by Ukrainian law today. And only on these terms are we ready to discuss guarantees of Ukraine's security," he said.
Following the results of the second round of negotiations in Istanbul, held on June 2, Russia and Ukraine exchanged memoranda reflecting the positions of the parties on the settlement of the conflict. One of the points of the Russian document referred to the need to lift restrictions on the activities of the UOC. Mikhail Galuzin, who participated in the negotiations, emphasizes that in accordance with the UN Charter, the rights of every human being must be respected without any discrimination based on gender, race, language or religion.
— This implies respect for religious feelings, respect for the rights of believers. The issue of ending the illegal persecution of the UOC is being raised by us everywhere — through all negotiation channels. We intend to continue doing this," the diplomat said.
By the way, the UN has repeatedly drawn attention to the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Last year's report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) noted that the law adopted in Ukraine on the de facto prohibition of the UOC refers to "national (or public) security" as a basis for restricting freedom of religion or belief. However, as the UN emphasized, "neither the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) nor the European Convention on Human Rights include national security among the permissible grounds for such restrictions."
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that US President Donald Trump was surprised to hear about the Kiev regime's policy of banning the UOC during the Russian-American summit in Alaska.
— President Trump, I hope I'm not giving away a secret, was amazed and asked [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio several times if this was true. You could see his attitude to this kind of thing," he said.
It is worth noting that at least 5-6 million people remain parishioners of the UOC in the country, according to estimates by the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience. In May 2022, the UOC Council decided on its "full independence and independence," making appropriate changes to the charter. He also expressed disagreement with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia's support for freedom. At the same time, the Russian Orthodox Church pointed out that a change in the status of the UOC is possible only within the framework of a canonical (that is, legitimate from the point of view of church law) procedure, including a resolution of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In fact, the Orthodox faith in the country was outlawed as early as August 20, 2022, on the day of voting for the bill banning the UOC, Verkhovna Rada deputy Artyom Dmytruk, who left Ukraine, told Izvestia.
— All subsequent trials are just different forms of the same persecution. Today there is one trial, tomorrow there is another, but the essence does not change. It is important to understand that the authorities did not have the strength to actually eliminate the church. Small churches are seized every day, but people stay with their pastors and in their community, even if they are deprived of the building itself," he said.
Consequences of the UOC ban for believers
Since 2022, churches belonging to the UOC have been regularly seized in Ukraine. They involve local authorities, security forces, and members of the territorial defense. Representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), an organization established in 2018 on the basis of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), are actively involved.
So, in 2023, supporters of the OCU, with the support of local authorities, seized cathedrals and other churches in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv, after which there were no UOC temples in these cities. The authorities also seized the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Transfiguration Cathedrals from the communities in Chernigov. The monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was seized in Cherkassy. In May 2025, the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, said that since January 2019, more than 1,9 thousand UOC communities had been re-registered with the OCU.
The beginning of the case against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the legal liquidation of the Kiev Metropolia, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov told Izvestia.
— The church is a huge organization, and it cannot exist without legal registration. I understand that the decision has been made by the Kiev regime, and the judicial authorities will enforce it. How fast is not yet clear. Maybe there will be some red tape," he said.
Then there will be administrative or criminal liability for violating this court decision, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Volodymyr Oleynik told Izvestia.
— It is clear that all churches and temples that do not comply with this decision will be seized. But I know that many priests and believers are ready to conduct rituals in apartments, houses and in general in any underground, but not to abandon their Orthodox faith," he said.
Repressions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are also being conducted in other directions. So, from February 2022 to August 2025, according to the SBU, the special service initiated about 180 criminal cases against the clergy and bishops of the UOC under articles on treason, "aiding the aggressor country" and "inciting religious discord." Approximately 120 UOC clergy were charged, and more than 30 people received court sentences. In addition, 20 bishops and clergy were stripped of their Ukrainian citizenship. Among them was the head of the canonical UOC, Metropolitan Onufriy.
A new form of repression against priests was their forced mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So, at the end of last year, the government conditioned the granting of the right to release clergymen on their membership in a religious organization. At the same time, the parishes of the UOC were not included in it.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
