Kirovohrad UOC dioceses under investigation for “ties to the ROC”

The Kirovohrad and Oleksandriia dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being investigated for possible organizational “links to the Russian Orthodox Church.” They are among 52 religious entities associated with the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC, Suspilne Kropyvnytskyi reports.

According to Vitalii Ostanniy, head of the regional Strategic Communications Department, the dioceses have been instructed to remove “indications of subordination to the ROC” in line with a directive issued by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SESS) on July 17. The investigation into the Kyiv Metropolis was conducted under the Law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Activities of Religious Organizations,” and the findings were published on July 8.

In addition to the central structure, individual diocesan administrations — particularly in the Kirovohrad region — will also be examined, as they are registered as local branches of the Orthodox Church.

“The affiliated status of these dioceses and their administrations must now be studied, since they are registered as the Kirovohrad Orthodox Church administration,” said the official.

It is also worth noting that Ukrainian religious scholar and DESS expert Andriy Smirnov believes the state will not pursue the deportation of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church due to his loss of Ukrainian citizenship. According to Smirnov, personal sanctions may be applied against His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy, though they are unlikely to influence his stance.