Zelensky talks about how the state is fighting the UOC

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the measures the state is taking against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to limit its activities. He argues that there is a legal relationship between the UOC and the Russian Orthodox Church, and therefore the canonical Church in Ukraine is being significantly curtailed in its rights in order to finally ban it. The Head of State said this in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.

“The Moscow Patriarchate is not about faith, it is about politics. They have been working for the Kremlin for decades, spreading pro-Russian narratives, blessing the war and justifying aggression. We cannot allow a structure that is actually part of the Russian propaganda machine to operate in Ukraine,” – Zelensky said.

According to the president, the Ukrainian authorities have already taken a number of measures to limit the influence of the UOC. These include depriving the UOC of control over the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra; imposing sanctions against clergy who “collaborated with Russian special services”; and adopting bills aimed at banning religious organizations affiliated with the aggressor state.

In addition, Zelenskyy stated that the UOC has a legal relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church. That is why the Parliament passed the scandalous anti-church law No. 3894, which bans the activities of the UOC.

“At the legislative level, the parliament decided that there can be no Moscow Patriarchate. This means that this Church must be legally re-registered. There can be no legal connection with Moscow. The Moscow Patriarchate is being closed, there can be no legal connection. And they must be a Ukrainian Church legally under Ukrainian jurisdiction,” – he added.

Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky shifted the responsibility for the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. He claims that the entire population was in favor of banning the UOC, and the decision, in particular, to exclude the Church from the AUCCRO, was made by the country’s religious organizations “without any influence.”