State Service on Ethnic Policy files lawsuit to terminate activities of UOC (MP) affiliated with ROC
The State Service of Ukraine on Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience filed a lawsuit to terminate the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), which is recognized as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
"If the order is not fulfilled, the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience is obliged to declare the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church banned in Ukraine - this is the first step. The second step is to send letters about this to the Kyiv Metropolis and those religious organizations that are part of it or are associated with it. The third step is to immediately, as stated in the law, file a lawsuit with the court to terminate the Kyiv Metropolis. This is what was actually done," said Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service on Ethnic Policy, at a briefing on Tuesday, adding that the lawsuit was filed with the Supreme Administrative Court on August 29.
When asked how long such a trial might last, the head of the Service added that he could not predict, but the Service would try to ensure that this issue was not "drowned in legal spam."
Yelensky added that when the activities of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC are terminated, this will not mean that all parishes and communities in Ukraine that belong to this church will be closed.
According to him, if such a decision is made by the court, the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC will be deprived of the status of a legal entity and will lose legal personality, which will mean that the parishes of this church will not have a center.
He emphasized that this also does not mean that the parishes will be forced to join some other church: "The state does not force anyone to join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine or any other."
The head of the Service added that the parishes can remain independent and act autonomously. "This is not about the connection of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the special services of the Russian Federation. If there is a connection of certain priests with the Russian special services or with the occupiers, or there are facts of collaboration, then these cases are considered separately. We have several dozen such trials when clergymen of this church were accused of collaborating with the occupiers... But we are not talking about this: we are talking about the fact that the Ukrainian state does not allow the activities of the structures of the Russian Orthodox Church on the territory of Ukraine," Yelensky added, answering journalists' questions.