The Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) adopted in general the revised draft law No. 8371 on the ban on the activity of religious organizations on the territory of Ukraine, in particular those related to the Russian Federation.
The MP from "Voice" Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported this.
The draft law was supported by 265 MPs.
This document should make impossible the activities of churches that are governed by the state that is carrying out aggression against Ukraine, i.e. Russia.
Religious organizations that are suspected of cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church will be checked by the relevant expert commission. It should be created by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SEFC). If the commission records a violation, SEFC will issue an order to the church to correct the situation.
After that, a court must be held to decide whether to ban the religious organization. At the same time, the religious organization does not mean the entire UOC MP, but individual legal entities that represent it. This means that each parish or diocese will be banned separately.
The law enters into force 30 days after its publication. At the same time , the UOC MP communities will have 9 months to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Prohibition of the UOC MP in Ukraine
On January 19, 2023, the government submitted to the Vekhovna Rada a draft law on banning churches affiliated with Russia in Ukraine. This was done on the instructions of the National Security and Defense Council. On October 19, 2023, the parliament supported this draft law in the first reading.
On July 23, 2024, a number of MPs blocked the rostrum of the Rada due to the refusal to put the project to a vote. However, the voting did not take place then.
On July 24, the Speaker of the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk said that the deputies decided to concentrate on finalizing certain provisions of the law so that it could be put to a vote as soon as possible.
On August 15, Zelensky called on the Verkhovna Rada to act quickly in the decision on "religious independence." And the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epiphany called on the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Onufriy to dialogue about unity.