UOC hierarchs discuss "church-state relations" with OCU lobbyists and supporters of banning the canonical Church

on December 18, 2025, the Mykhailo Drahomanov Ukrainian State University hosted a scientific roundtable on the topic “The Quality of Legislative Support and State Activities to Address the Problems of Modern Ukrainian Orthodoxy.” The event was attended by the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who actively discussed a wide range of issues, including church-state relations, the implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Religious Organizations,” and the problems of clergy reservations from mobilization.

According to the UOC Information and Education Department, the scientific forum, which was held with the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, was attended by Metropolitan Klyment of Nizhyn and Pryluky, head of the UOC Synodal Information and Education Department, metropolitan Augustine of Bila Tserkva and Bohuslav, head of the UOC Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Other Military Formations of Ukraine, and Archbishop Sylvester of Bila Tserkva, rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary.

The moderator of the roundtable was Professor Viktor Bondarenko, Head of the Department of Cultural Studies, Theology and Religious Studies at the Mykhailo Drahomanov Ukrainian State University, Doctor of Philosophy. Representatives of various Orthodox denominations of Ukraine and members of the scientific community from the Mykhailo Drahomanov Ukrainian State University, the Faculty of Philosophy of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, and the Department of Religious Studies of the H.S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine also joined the discussion.

During the discussions, the participants paid special attention to the Law of Ukraine No. 3894 “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Activities of Religious Organizations” (On the Prohibition of the UOC – ed.), emphasizing the potential problems that its implementation may cause. In addition, the topical issue of reserving the clergy of Ukrainian denominations from mobilization and issues related to inequality of opportunities was raised.

The participants of the roundtable also analyzed the current state of religious life in Ukraine, considered the prospects for its development and possible ways out of the current crisis in interfaith relations, seeking to find constructive solutions.

It is also worth noting that the event was attended by outspoken opponents of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi, who actively advocated the adoption of anti-church law No. 3894, OCU hierarch Oleksandr Drabynko, as well as OCU lobbyists in the media Oleksandr Sagan and Yuriy Chornomorets, who have been repeatedly noticed inciting hatred against the canonical Church.

Earlier, we reported that the notorious religious scholar, DESS expert and OCU lobbyist Yuriy Chornomorets proposed to deport or imprison the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to Chornomorets, it is the hierarchs of the UOC who are delaying the implementation of anti-church law No. 3894, while allegedly deceiving others by claiming that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not part of the Moscow Patriarchate.