(RNS) — On Tuesday (Aug. 20), the Ukrainian Parliament passed a long-anticipated bill that will ban the activities of churches deemed to be affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church or supporting the Russian invasion.The legislation, expected to be signed into law soon by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, explicitly bans religious institutions subordinate to leaders based in Russia and is seen even by some supporters of Ukraine as an overstep in the name of national security, a violation of religious freedom and a potential risk to continued foreign military aid.
The clear target of the law is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with its historical ties to Moscow. The church declared itself independent of the Moscow Patriarchate three months after the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 but many still suspect at least some of the church leadership has loyalties to Russia.
“The government in Kyiv wants to see the conduits of Russian influence in Ukrainian society totally minimized,” said Andreja Bogdanovski, an author, scholar and analyst of Orthodox Christianity.
Ahead of the vote, Zelenskyy said the law would “guarantee that there will be no manipulation of the Ukrainian Church from Moscow.”
“This draft law must work and must add to Ukraine the unity of the cathedral, our real spiritual unity,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Historically, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been the largest faith group in Ukraine, but the country’s Orthodox C …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
The clear target of the law is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with its historical ties to Moscow. The church declared itself independent of the Moscow Patriarchate three months after the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 but many still suspect at least some of the church leadership has loyalties to Russia.
“The government in Kyiv wants to see the conduits of Russian influence in Ukrainian society totally minimized,” said Andreja Bogdanovski, an author, scholar and analyst of Orthodox Christianity.
Ahead of the vote, Zelenskyy said the law would “guarantee that there will be no manipulation of the Ukrainian Church from Moscow.”
“This draft law must work and must add to Ukraine the unity of the cathedral, our real spiritual unity,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Historically, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been the largest faith group in Ukraine, but the country’s Orthodox C …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]