OCU lobbyist Brodetsky: Court canceled only outdated expertise of UOC: 2025 study on connection with ROC remains valid

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal regarding the revocation of the order of the SES of 2023 affects only outdated expertise and does not affect the legal force of the new study of 2025, which confirms the connection of the UOC with the Moscow Patriarchate. This was reported by religious scholar and lobbyist of the OCU Oleksandr Brodetsky on his Facebook account.

According to an expert assessment, the court ruling refers only to an administrative act of two years ago. At the same time, the results of the study of July 8, 2025, conducted under the current Law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Religious Organizations,” remain fully legitimate. This law was adopted in August 2024, creating a new legal framework for analyzing the activities of religious associations.

According to Brodetsky, it was on the basis of the conclusions of 2025, which established the affiliation of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC with the Russian Orthodox Church, that the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) issued an official order. This document contains five specific steps necessary for the real, not formal, severance of administrative ties with Moscow.

Oleksandr Brodetskyi emphasized that the recent court decision is not relevant to the current process because the law does not have retroactive effect with regard to the 2023 examination. Thus, the current requirements of the state authorities to the UOC, based on the norms of 2024-2025, remain valid and must be fulfilled.

As reported, the Legal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has published an official explanation of the decision of the Court of Appeal of April 6, 2026, which concerns the abolition of the religious examination of the Statute of Governance of the UOC. According to the church’s position, the court verdict confirms the illegality of the actions of state bodies and effectively deprives the expert opinion of legal force, despite attempts to distort information in a number of media outlets.