A lawmaker complained that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church faces no restrictions abroad

Ukrainian People's Deputy Nikita Poturaev commented on the current situation regarding the activities of religious organizations outside the country. According to him, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) operates more freely abroad than within Ukraine, due to the absence of legislation in European countries that restricts the activities of such religious organizations.

During his speech , the deputy expressed concern that the opening of new UOC parishes abroad, in his opinion, indicates that the organization maintains ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, Poturaev acknowledged that the OCU faces objective challenges in expanding its activities beyond Ukraine’s borders. He explained that the Tomos of Autocephaly strictly limits the OCU’s canonical territory to the borders of the Ukrainian state.

As the parliamentarian emphasized, this provision is a matter of ecclesiastical law over which state authorities have no direct influence.

As a reminder, the editor-in-chief of the Greek Catholic online project “Religious Information Service of Ukraine,” Taras Antoshevsky, pointed out a systematic pattern whereby clergy of the UOC- e are able to travel abroad unhindered, even if criminal proceedings have been initiated against them. Antoshevsky pointed to cases in which, even after being detained by TCC officers, members of the clergy leave the country within a few days.