The Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Council draft law No. 8371, which provides for a ban on the activity of the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine.
This was reported by the representative of the government in the parliament, Taras Melnychuk.
The document is aimed at "ensuring spiritual independence, preventing a split in society on religious grounds, promoting the consolidation of Ukrainian society and protecting national interests."
In fact, the proposed changes to the legislation make it impossible for religious organizations, whose management center is located in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine, to operate in Ukraine.
It is about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UPC MP). This church, although officially called the "Ukrainian Orthodox Church", nevertheless has the status of autonomy within the Russian Orthodox Church.
- 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.
- On December 27, the Constitutional Court recognized as constitutional the law of the Verkhovna Rada, which obliges to rename the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. It should change its name and indicate that its center is located in Moscow.
- A survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that 54% of Ukrainians believe that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate should be banned.