An expert explained the legal status of independent Orthodox communities in Ukraine

A leading Ukrainian lawyer in the field of religious law, Dmytro Vovk, has commented on the possibility of establishing independent Orthodox communities in the country and their right to use church buildings. According to him, the legislation does not prohibit the registration of parishes that are not subject to any church jurisdiction, but the practical realization of the right to use temples after leaving the UOC remains questionable due to differences in the policies of local authorities.

On the air of the YouTube channel «Viche», Dmytro Vovk confirmed that the law allows believers who identify themselves as Orthodox but do not wish to belong to existing churches to register their own independent communities. «Certainly, the law does not prohibit the creation of independent Orthodox parafias. This is, in principle, a matter for the community itself,» the expert noted. He also recalled that in the past there were precedents when communities left the UOC or the UOC-KP and declared to join other jurisdictions, for example, the Finnish Orthodox Church.

Answering the question about the right of such communities to use churches, the lawyer emphasized that the current restrictions on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are related to its canonical and historical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. Therefore, hypothetically, after the official withdrawal from the subordination of the UOC, the community receives a formal right to use the church building.

However, according to Dmytro Vovk, the possibility to realize this right in practice is «an open question». He explained that the policy of local authorities towards religious organizations may differ significantly in different regions of Ukraine, which makes predicting the final result extremely difficult. Thus, despite the existence of a legal framework, the fate of temples for independent communities will largely depend on local decisions.

Earlier we reported that in Chernihiv the parish of All Saints of Chernihiv, which belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, initiated the procedure of obtaining the status of an independent religious community. This was the first such case in the region and sparked discussions about whether this was a step towards real independence or a way to avoid problems amid new legislation restricting the activities of Russian-affiliated religious organizations.