The DESS said that the monastery "Goloseevskaya Desert" of the UOC was recognized as affiliated with the ROC

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has officially recognized the monastery «St. Pokrovska Goloseevskaya Desert» of the Kiev Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as affiliated with a foreign religious organization, the activities of which are prohibited on the territory of Ukraine.

According to the official resource of the DESS, the relevant decision was made based on the results of the study conducted by the agency. This measure was implemented as part of the execution of legislative norms aimed at protecting national security and constitutional order.

The basis for the order was the provisions of the Laws of Ukraine «On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations» and «On Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations». The ministry stressed that the decision confirms the monastery’s connection with the structures whose activities are recognized as threatening the interests of the state under the current legal policy.