Kyiv’s proposed ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is raising concerns about potential “dire consequences” for Ukraine’s aspirations to join the European Union, according to legal experts quoted by The Telegraph. The Ukrainian parliament is expected to vote on the closure of the UOC, the country’s largest Christian denomination with 12,000 parishes, later this month.
Lawyers have reached out to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging them to press Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to “suspend efforts to ban this historic institution.” International lawyer Robert Amsterdam, in a letter to Western leaders, warned that such a decision could inflict “serious harm to Orthodox Ukrainians” and raise doubts about Ukraine’s ability to fulfill its commitments as an EU membership candidate.
Amsterdam highlighted that the move would have “dire ramifications for Ukraine’s entry into the European Union and its place in the Western world.” He expressed concern about Kyiv’s accusations against the UOC, citing false collaboration claims with Moscow and arrests of clerics on questionable charges.
Ukrainian authorities have accused the UOC of ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), despite the UOC condemning Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and declaring its autonomy from Moscow in February 2022.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has initiated 65 criminal cases against UOC priests, sanctioned 17 clerics, and revoked the citizenship of 19 hierarchs, according to TASS news agency. Amsterdam argued that these actions represent a “clear violation of the freedom of religion guaranteed by both international human rights law and the Ukrainian Constitution.”
In October, the Ukrainian parliament passed a draft law in a single reading to ban the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with the support of 267 out of 450 deputies. Patriarch Kirill, the head of the ROC, condemned Kyiv’s actions, emphasizing that the persecution of the UOC occurs in a country that professes allegiance to European values of democracy, freedom, and religious freedom.
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