The DESS confirmed that the Zaporizhzhia Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience has completed a large-scale investigation, which revealed clear evidence that the administration of the Zaporizhzhia Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is affiliated with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine. According to the agency’s official website, the decision was made based on a comprehensive analysis of the church structure’s activities.

During the investigation, which began on August 12, 2026, experts identified three key factors. First, the administration of the Zaporizhzhia Diocese is a structural unit of the UOC and is part of the Kyiv Metropolis, which, according to current Ukrainian legislation, is recognized as affiliated with a banned foreign organization. Second, the Zaporizhzhia Diocese’s charter documents confirm its subordination to the structures of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC.

The researchers paid particular attention to the charter of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It was established that this document provides for the inclusion of the head of the Zaporizhzhia Diocese of the UOC in the ROC’s statutory governing bodies, which is direct confirmation of an institutional link. This order was issued in strict accordance with the Ukrainian laws “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” and “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations’ Activities.”

As a reminder, earlier the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) officially initiated an investigation into the possible affiliation the “Administration of the Boryspil Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church” with the Russian Orthodox Church.