The Court Confirmed the Loss of Ukrainian Citizenship by Former Metropolitan of the UOC

The Supreme Court of Ukraine has confirmed the legality of the revocation of the Ukrainian citizenship of the former Metropolitan of Romny and Buryn of the UOC, Joseph, which was carried out by a presidential decree in December 2022. The reason for this decision was the establishment of the fact that he voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the Russian Federation, specifically by obtaining a Russian passport in 2016 in the annexed Crimea. The court agreed with the position of the authorities that this is a ground for losing citizenship according to current legislation. This was reported by Glavcom with reference to the court register.

On December 28, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to revoke the citizenship of 13 UOC clergymen, including Joseph, as Ukraine allows only one citizenship, according to Article 4 of the Constitution.

The defense of the former hierarch argued that in 1992, he had already received a Russian passport based on a Soviet document, and documents issued in Crimea after 2014 have no legal force.

During the review of the case, it was established that the former metropolitan received a Soviet passport in 1995, already after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On its basis, he became a citizen of the Russian Federation in 1996 and later became a citizen of Ukraine. At that time, the Ukrainian authorities were unaware of his Soviet passport.

The court concluded that the former UOC clergyman voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another state as an adult, which is grounds for the loss of Ukrainian citizenship. The materials also noted that he could have been residing in Russia during the review of the case.

Earlier, it was reported that on April 10, 2025, the Uzhhorod City District Court of the Transcarpathian region held a regular court hearing in a criminal case against a well-known Transcarpathian priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Dmitry Sidor. The clergyman is accused of inciting religious hatred and violating the equality of citizens on religious grounds.