The UOC will not comply with the requirements of the DESS, - Metropolitan Onufry

The Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church published a statement by the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, in which the First Hierarch criticized the activities of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience aimed at banning the UOC. The statement asserts that the DESS has not officially informed the Church of the results of its investigation into its affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate, without providing any documents on the work carried out. In this regard, the UOC categorically disagrees with the statements of the DESS and is suing the State Service. The full text of the statement is published below.

On July 21, 2025, the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church received a letter from the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (hereinafter referred to as DESS) No. 4499/11-09/25 dated July 17, 2025, with an attached Order No. P-1 dated July 17, 2025, on the elimination of violations of the legislation on freedom of conscience and religious organizations by August 18, 2025.

This letter was preceded by a series of publications on the DESS website and public statements by the DESS leadership, in which, through deliberate misinterpretation of facts and artificial imposition of characteristics not inherent to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the idea of taking measures to ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was already taking shape. Therefore, the letter with the Prescription was the expected result of a long process, and in terms of content, it is not so much a legal act of the civil service as a public ultimatum addressed to the higher governing bodies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, based not on official documents and objective facts, but on the subjective opinions of the head and employees of the DESS.

In view of the received Order, we note that the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church did not receive any official notification from the DESS either about the start of an investigation into the existence of signs of affiliation, or about the completion of the investigation, or about its results. The DESS order No. N-101/11 dated 08.07.2025, mentioned in the letter with the Prescription, which approved the signs of affiliation, was also not received by the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. That is, until July 21, 2025, when the letter from the DESS on the elimination of the identified violations and the attached Order were received, the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was deprived of the opportunity to familiarize itself with the above-mentioned documents of the DESS, which regulate the investigation process, and, most importantly, to state its position on the issues raised, as well as to express its agreement or disagreement on important and controversial issues.

As it became known from open sources of information, on May 17, 2025, a publication was posted on the official website of the DESS about the start of an investigation into the question of the presence of signs of affiliation of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. However, the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, having begun to study the components of the research being carried out by the DESS research group, encountered secrecy surrounding key documents of this process, which immediately raised doubts about the legality of the research and the impartiality of the research group. It became impossible to find out the legal grounds for conducting the study, since the content of the Official Note of the Head of the Department for Religious Affairs dated 16.05.2025 No. 41, which became the basis for the adoption of the DESS Order dated 16.05.2025 No. N-70/11 “On conducting a study on the presence of signs of affiliation of the KYIV METROPOLITANATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine,” was classified as “secret.”

This raises the question: why are the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations,” the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations,” and Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 543 “On Approval of the Procedure for Conducting Research on the Presence of Signs of Affiliation of a Religious Organization with a Foreign Religious Organization Whose Activities Are Prohibited in Ukraine” among all religious organizations in Ukraine are applied primarily to the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church? Is this fate chosen at the discretion of DESS officials to crack down on dissidents?

The Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations” No. 3894-IX gave the state the opportunity to interfere with freedom of conscience and religion under the pretext of national security. This constitutes a direct violation of the Convention, since national security is not among the objectives listed in Article 9 §2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and in the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The refusal of the authors of the Convention and the Covenant to include this particular motive in the list of legitimate grounds for interference reflects the paramount importance of religious pluralism as “one of the foundations of a democratic society” and the fact that the state cannot dictate what a person should believe or take measures to force them to change their beliefs. Therefore, the state cannot invoke the mere need to protect national security in order to restrict the right of a person or group of persons to practice their religion.

The composition of the research group deserves special attention, as it consists of five full-time DESS employees who report directly to the head of the DESS and are not specialists in either theology or canon law. There is no doubt that the study of the issues raised requires not only legal analysis, but above all a theological and canonical understanding of the structure of the Church. In addition, as can be seen from open sources, the members of the research group take a clearly one-sided position on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in their publications and statements, which indicates their biased attitude towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. These and other facts testify to the lack of independence and competence of the members of the research group, which in turn makes it impossible to reach an objective conclusion within the framework of the research being conducted.

Given that there are sufficient grounds to assert and substantiate the absence of the principle of equality and impartiality (objectivity) of the DESS in the formation of the research group, the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church filed a motion with the court to secure a claim to suspend the order of the DESS No. N-65/11 on the composition of the research group. To date, the court proceedings have not been completed.

Another unacceptable fact is that the DESS systematically ignores representatives of religious organizations and relevant specialists in its activities. In particular, requests from representatives of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to participate in the expert examinations and research conducted by the DESS have been repeatedly ignored. Even the research to identify signs of affiliation of the Kyiv Metropolis was conducted without the involvement of representatives of the Kyiv Metropolis itself. The Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church did not receive any requests for information, explanations, documents, etc., as provided for by the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations”: «After the announcement of the start of the investigation, the central executive body that implements state policy in the sphere of religion may apply to state authorities, local self-government bodies, legal entities, and individuals for information, explanations, documents, and extracts from public electronic registers necessary to conduct the investigation and establish the presence or absence of signs of affiliation as defined in Article 5-1 of this Law.» This is a violation of Article 30 of Law of Ukraine No. 987-XII “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.”

Thus, during the investigation by the DESS research group, the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was deprived of the opportunity to provide its documented evidence. We have reason to believe that DESS was not interested in taking into account the position of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as this could have undermined the pre-planned “research results.” The right to participate in the decision-making process and conduct relevant research was not ensured.

This is confirmed by the sources used by the DESS research group. First of all, it is the Order of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine dated January 25, 2019, No. 37 “On the approval of religious studies expertise on establishing a list of religious organizations (associations) that fall under the provisions of parts seven and eight of Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine ”On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.» The reference to the results of the 2019 religious studies expertise as the basis for conducting research on affiliation in 2025 does not reflect the actual legal status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. On May 27, 2022, the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was held, at which important decisions were made regarding the Statute on the Management of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The DESS was duly informed of this back in 2022.

The next basis referred to by the DESS research group is the conclusion of the religious studies expert examination of the Statute on the Management of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was approved by the DESS Order of January 27, 2023 No. N-8/11, and the court decision of September 18, 2024, in case No. 320/26027/23. It is inadmissible to refer to the decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court of September 18, 2024, since as of August 2025, the decision of the court of first instance has not entered into legal force, as the court proceedings are still ongoing and have not been completed. It should be reminded to the management and employees of DESS that if a court decision that has not entered into legal force is used as a basis for action, this may lead to consequences such as the cancellation of decisions made on its basis or the prosecution of officials.

Perhaps the most surprising fact is that the results of the study are based mainly not on the current documents of Ukraine, in particular the documents of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, according to which the religious organizations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, carry out their activities, but mainly on the basis of documents of a foreign state that carried out armed aggression against Ukraine. Thus, the DESS research group achieves the “results” of its research on the basis of a whole series of foreign documents to which the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has no relation. In addition, the DESS research group used publications from various Internet resources, a significant number of which are also posted on the websites of the state that committed military aggression against Ukraine. This actually indicates that DESS officials recognize the legitimacy for Ukraine of documents of foreign organizations of the state that carried out military aggression against Ukraine and/or temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine. A religious organization or religious association cannot be held responsible for the actions of third parties.

The study also refers to unpublished decisions of the higher governing bodies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. However, we note once again that no requests for copies or originals of the relevant documents were sent to the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Unfortunately, the research group did not take into account the current social and humanitarian activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation’s troops into the territory of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose parishes are located in all regions of the Ukrainian state, clearly stated its position condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine and called for its immediate cessation. From the first days of the war, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church launched a broad humanitarian mission in all its dioceses, joining in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and providing assistance to the civilian population affected by the hostilities. This mission continues to this day.

The activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church remain focused on supporting the Ukrainian people and providing spiritual and material assistance. In particular, since the beginning of 2022, 193 vehicles have been purchased and transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than 1,037 tons of humanitarian aid (food, medicine, hygiene products, ammunition, camouflage nets, fuel, trench candles, generators, thermal imagers, REBs, and building materials) have been transferred to the Ukrainian military. The total amount of financial and humanitarian aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to over UAH 66.5 million. In addition, targeted assistance is constantly provided to military personnel. On a regular basis, clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church donate blood for wounded soldiers. Hundreds of parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have become volunteer hubs, actively supporting not only the Ukrainian military but also the civilian population in the frontline areas since the first days of the war.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is constantly collecting and delivering humanitarian aid to provide everything necessary for local residents living in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine, as well as for displaced persons. During the specified period, 8,000 tons of humanitarian aid were provided to the needy segments of the population. This includes food, medicines, hygiene products, household chemicals, warm clothes, and, for residents of frontline areas, generators, fuel, and drinking water. The total amount of financial assistance in this area amounted to almost UAH 175 million.

The dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have distributed nearly 1.5 million hot meals to people who, due to the war, are unable to provide even food for themselves. This mission continues. In addition, more than 18,000 food packages have been provided to displaced persons living in Kyiv. At the Kiev railway station, 22,000 charitable meals were distributed to those in need. Since the first months of the war, more than 50,000 internally displaced persons have found shelter in the monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Many of them continue to live there to this day, receiving everything they need.

The total amount of financial assistance provided by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church during the war is over 241.5 million hryvnia.

And these are not all the figures and areas of assistance that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church provides daily to its compatriots in the joint struggle against Russian aggression and overcoming its consequences. Was such activity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church again simply ignored by the leadership and officials of the DESS?

Considering all of the above and, in general, the activities of the DESS regarding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we note that the Order of 17.07.2025 No. P-1, requiring the removal of some fictitious signs of affiliation, is a gross interference in the internal life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is a violation of the current legislation of Ukraine and international law. The order precedes the completion of court proceedings, which are essential in establishing the facts of illegal actions on the part of the DESS. In addition, the order contradicts the Decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated March 25, 2021, “On the Military Security Strategy of Ukraine,” approved by the President of Ukraine, on the inadmissibility of exacerbating conflicts caused by religious factors. The order received by the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is openly manipulative in nature and is completely far from objectivity and the realities in which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church finds itself.

After analyzing the Prescription on the elimination of violations and the results of the investigation into the existence of signs of affiliation, the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church concluded that the points of the Prescription with the obligation to eliminate violations of the legislation on freedom of conscience and religious organizations are fictitious, have no relation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and therefore cannot be enforced.

+ONUFRIY

METROPOLITAN OF KYIV AND ALL UKRAINE,

PRIMATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH