DESS reaffirmed the UOC's connection with the Moscow Patriarchate

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has officially confirmed the conclusions of a religious expert examination regarding the existence of a church-canonical connection between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and the Moscow Patriarchate. This decision was taken as part of the enforcement of the ruling of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, which obliged the agency to reconsider the issue taking into account the application of the Kyiv Metropolitan Church of the UOC to disqualify the experts.

According to the official portal of the DESS, the agency conducted a thorough analysis of the claims made by the representatives of the UOC. As a result of consideration of the application for the disqualification of the members of the expert group, the DESS concluded that it was completely unfounded. The Office emphasized that the experts who conducted the study in 2022-2023 are highly qualified specialists from leading scientific institutions, such as the Institute of Philosophy named after H.S. Skovoroda of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University and the National University «Ostrog Academy».

The official explanation notes that the civil position and public statements of experts in the conditions of full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation are not a sign of bias, as the subject of expertise was exclusively religious and institutional in nature. DESS acted as an institutional guarantor of objectivity, ensuring the separation of the personal views of scientists from their professional activities in analyzing the Statute on the UOC governance.

According to DESS, representatives of the UOC were given the opportunity to participate in the expert review process to ensure procedural safeguards, but the religious association refused to engage constructively. The final conclusion about the connection with Moscow was adopted by the expert group unanimously, which confirms the internal consistency and sufficient reasoning of the results of the study. On this basis, the DESS stated that there were no objective criteria for satisfying the challenge of the panel members and confirmed the legality of the earlier conclusions.

As a reminder, on April 6, 2026, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in case #320/26027/23, effectively annulling the results of the earlier religious expert examination.