Verkhovna Rada Bans Russian Orthodox Church

The Ukrainian parliament has passed a law that directly bans the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (ROC) and paves the way for the same decision with regard to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (formerly the Moscow Patriarchate). 265 MPs voted in favor of the law. The Ukrainian parliament did not discuss it in the second reading, but approved it immediately after the session was opened. Opponents of the bill did not insist on considering their amendments, bbc.com reported The adopted law assumes that Ukrainian courts will ban the activities of churches that are part of the Russian Orthodox Church at the request of the authorities. At the same time, the law clearly and directly prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church itself. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not mentioned in the document, but the deputies themselves frankly say that this is what they are talking about. According to the adopted scheme, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience should determine which structures in Ukraine have subordination and ties with the church centered in Russia. After that, the service should instruct them to get rid of this dependence, and if they refuse to do so, they should apply to the court with a request to ban their activities. Earlier, the state service for ethno-politics and freedom of conscience had already said that the UOC was subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to observers, the Ukrainian authorities will first address the issue of revoking registration of the Kyiv Metropolitanate and dioceses, and then individual UOC parishes. However, the UOC is not one legal entity, and consists of separate dioceses and parishes, there are about 9 thousand legal entities in total. And for each of them there should be a separate appeal. The Ukrainian parliament postponed the possibility to sue the UOC, with the transition period increased from a month to nine. Separate court cases should last at least several more months, so the real prohibition of any UOC structures in Ukraine may come only a year after the law is signed by the president. The Supreme Court of Ukraine will decide on each such lawsuit.