The DESS has found evidence of affiliation between the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC and the Moscow Patriarchate

On July 8, 2025, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience published a report stating that the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church. In their conclusions, DESS experts refer mainly to the statutory documents of the Russian Orthodox Church and their own politically biased assessments. At the same time, the State Service practically did not take into account the decisions of the Council of the UOC in Feofaniya adopted in 2022, by which the Church separated its activities from the Russian Church. The conclusions of the examination are published on the DESS website.

After analyzing the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church in terms of its provisions on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, DESS experts concluded that the UOC did not receive sufficient independence to be considered free from the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate. In addition, the DES used Patriarch Alexy II’s letter “On Autonomy and Independence” as an argument, on the basis of which it was also concluded that the UOC remains within the structure of the ROC.

Here’s an example of one of the DESC’s conclusions, which the State Service used to determine the UOC’s affiliation with the ROC: “The Statute of the ROC stipulates that the bishops of the UOC are members of the Local and Bishops’ Councils of the ROC, participate in their work, as well as in the meetings of the Holy Synod of the ROC. In addition, it is determined that the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine is one of the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the ROC. The information provided in the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church directly indicates the mandatory membership of the head of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the statutory governing bodies of the Russian Orthodox Church. Therefore, the religious organization Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.”

Earlier, Yuriy Chornomorets, a supporter and lobbyist of the OCU in the media, religious scholar, and freelance DESS expert, stated that the state should react more harshly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Chornomorets is convinced that the UOC is not afraid of state power, since the government is still “playing democracy,” while the bishops and priests of the canonical Church should have been expelled from the country long ago.