The rector of the Pochaiv Theological Seminary of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) was charged with inciting religious enmity and humiliating the national honor and dignity of Ukrainians.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), which at the end of November searched the Pochaiv Lavra and this seminary.
Investigators gathered evidence that the rector was spreading destructive content on Facebook, and actively promoting the narratives of Russian propagandists in his publications. In addition, during the searches, the rector found literature that repeated the Kremlinʼs "theses" regarding Ukraine.
Currently, the archbishop has been notified of the suspicion under Part 1 of Art. 161 of the Criminal Code (violation of the equality of citizens depending on their racial, national, regional affiliation, religious beliefs).
- On December 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine instructed the government to submit to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law banning the activities of religious organizations affiliated with Russia in Ukraine.
- At the end of November, the SSU conducted a series of searches in churches, monasteries and laurels of the UOC MP, in particular in Kyiv-Pecherska. After the presidentʼs statement, law enforcement officers began actively conducting a series of searches across the country. Servants of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate are being checked for pro-Russian activities and connections with the occupiers.