Dhe Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) only declared its “full autonomy and independence” in May from the Moscow Patriarch Cyril, who unreservedly supports the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. But the step, which experts consider credible, did not prove to be a liberating blow. Since the end of November, the Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU has been searching hundreds of UOC churches and monasteries.
The accusation was: espionage and sabotage for Russia. In early December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that he wanted to ensure his country’s “spiritual independence”. Voices that want to ban the UOC, which many continue to refer to as the church of the “Moscow Patriarchate”, have recently become louder and louder.
According to a survey published on Thursday, 54 percent of Ukrainians are now in favor of a total ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. That would also be a radical step because the UOC still has by far the most congregations, priests and monasteries of all Ukrainian religious communities. However, the survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology reveals regional differences.
Support for a ban on the UOC is greatest in central Ukraine around the capital Kyiv, at 62 percent. In western Ukraine, 57 percent are in favor of a total ban. In the west, Ukrainian national consciousness is traditionally strongest, but the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is less present than in other regions of the country. In contrast, only 48 and 41 percent respectively of respondents in southern and eastern Ukraine support a total ban. These areas are more Russian-speaking – but also more affected by Russian attacks.
“Hard” or “soft” steps against the UOK?
Those familiar with the faith communities in Ukraine say that a total ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would be difficult to implement. Because that would require closing more than 10,000 communities. President Zelenskyy said that no one would be allowed to build an “empire in the Ukrainian soul”. But his statements so far have been aimed at possible connections to the Russian Orthodox Church, so that the UOC can refer to its new “autonomy and independence” in case of doubt.
Moscow Patriarch Kirill calls the Donbass “the first line of defense of the Russian world”.
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Image: AFP
In fact, other steps are also being debated in Ukraine. Below a total ban, 24 percent of those surveyed support a “softer” approach that does not envisage a complete ban on the UOC, but provides for stricter state supervision. Together with the 54 percent for a complete ban, 78 percent are in favor of state intervention in the affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
68 percent of Russian-speaking Ukrainians are also in favor of such an intervention. According to their latest figures, only a few congregations have left the UOC for the competing Orthodox Church of Ukraine. But it has clearly lost support in all regions and language groups in Ukraine.
However, Ukrainian announcements of action against the UOK are grist for the mill of Russian actors, who are increasingly speaking of religious persecution in Ukraine. On Thursday, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Cyril, issued a statement deploring the “discrimination” against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Among other things, the attention of “international human rights organizations” should be drawn to the “violation of the rights of believers in Ukraine”, said the top body of that church, whose head recently called the Donbass “the first line of defense of the Russian world”.
The Moscow synod also praised the “humanitarian commitment” of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – in the Russian-occupied territories. The rhetorical support from Moscow is more likely to damage than help the UOC’s tarnished reputation in Ukraine. The church, which professed the “sovereignty” and territorial “integrity” of Ukraine on February 24, is even threatened with the loss of its spiritual center. At the turn of the year, she was no longer allowed to celebrate services in two churches in the “upper” part of the Kyiv Cave Monastery. The lease is expiring, said a representative of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, who announced that he would also review the contracts in the “lower” part.
