The State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SSEFC) has recognized the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
According to Ukrinform, this was stated in a press release by the SSEFC.
As noted, the Service’s research revealed signs of affiliation between the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC and the ROC, which constitutes a violation of the Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.” Accordingly, the SSEFC issued an order to the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC to eliminate the violation of the law.
“In his letter, the head of the UOC, Metropolitan Onufriy, declared his refusal to comply with the specified order,” the SSEFC reported. Therefore, due to the absence of grounds to conclude that the violations were eliminated or that the issued order was erroneous, the SSEFC recognized the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC as affiliated with the ROC.
As reported, on July 24 the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC MP received by mail an order obliging the organization to sever ties with the ROC within a month — by August 24.
From May 20 to July 8, the SSEFC conducted research regarding the presence of signs of affiliation of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC MP with a foreign religious organization whose activities in Ukraine are prohibited in accordance with Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations.”
Based on the results of the research, the Service concluded that the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC is part of the ROC, whose activities are prohibited by law in Ukraine, that the statute of the Kyiv Metropolis contains signs of its belonging to the UOC connected to the ROC, that the ROC has the right to make decisions binding on the Kyiv Metropolis regarding ecclesiastical and organizational matters, and that the leaders of the Kyiv Metropolis are obliged to be part of the ROC’s governing bodies.
