DISINFO: Ukraine court orders demolition of Orthodox church
SUMMARY
A Ukrainian court has ordered the demolition of an Orthodox church, the Church of the Tithes (Desyatynna Tserkva), Kyiv's first stone temple. It was built over 1000 years ago and restored in 2007.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Ukraine of persecuting Christian Orthodox believers. This claim was made in the context of Russia's unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.
In reality, a Ukrainian court issued a ruling in February 2023 to demolish a chapel of the so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in central Kyiv, which was illegally built several years ago near the ruins of Church of the Tithes. The site belongs to the National Museum of Ukrainian History, whose director allowed the local parish of the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to build a chapel there in 2004. First, a kiosk was set up there, which later was turned into a wooden chapel (not a church). A brick building was erected later. All these activities were illegal because the ruins of the Church of the Tithes and its surroundings are protected by UNESCO, which means that any construction activities are prohibited in that area. The Church of the Tithes was ruined during the Mongol invasion in the Middle Ages, and only parts of its floor are left. There were plans to restore it but they were rejected.
There is no persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. In late 2022, the Ukrainian government announced a law banning churches affiliated with Russia, following a series of investigations related to parishes that Kyiv says could be taking orders from Moscow. This mostly affected the activities of the UOC-MP, which is affiliated with Russia and considered a key influence tool for Moscow in the country, and whose leadership has voiced its full support for the Russian war on Ukraine including siding closely with Putin, blessing soldiers and Russian guns and offering the church's support.
The Ukrainian government does not plan to ban Orthodoxy. UOC-MP parishes are free to switch to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine which received the tomos of autocephaly in January 2019. It is also the most popular Orthodox church in Ukraine: 78% of Orthodox believers claim their allegiance to the church.
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