The State Service for Ethnopolitics Will Sue the Zaporizhzhia Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) intends to file a lawsuit against the Zaporizhzhia Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) if it fails to comply with the order to withdraw from the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). This was reported by Ukrinform.

As DESS head Viktor Yelensky explained during a meeting with clergy in Zaporizhzhia, current Ukrainian legislation requires religious organizations to sever their canonical ties with the ROC. According to the official, the state does not interfere in the church’s internal affairs—it does not require a change in the language of worship or the liturgical calendar—but insists on ending administrative dependence on a structure that Ukrainian authorities describe as an institution supporting Russian aggression.

“If they do not agree and do not comply with our order, we will file a lawsuit to suspend the activities of the relevant diocese. The Zaporizhzhia Diocese has already received such an order, but there has been no report on the rectification of the violations to date,” Yelensky noted. He added that similar demands have already been sent to the Boryspil and Balt dioceses. The agency is prepared to withdraw the claims at any time if the church structures officially confirm their severance from the Russian Orthodox Church.

As a reminder, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal had previously ruled to terminate the activities of the religious organization “Administration of the Rovenki Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.” The administrative lawsuit filed by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) was partially granted.