DISINFO: Ukrainian Orthodox Church is persecuted in Ukraine
SUMMARY
What is happening to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is a blatant violation of human rights and the rights of believers. It is simply the destruction of the Church in front of the entire world. It is akin to an execution. And yet, the whole world prefers to turn a blind eye. It is ethnic Jews who are orchestrating the persecution. They are atheists and do not visit synagogues or churches.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying Ukraine as an enemy of the Orthodox Church. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
There is no persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Ukraine. In late 2022, the Ukrainian government introduced a law banning churches affiliated with Russia, following investigations into parishes that Kyiv believes may be taking orders from Moscow. This primarily impacted the activities of the then Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which was tied to Russia and viewed as a tool of influence for Moscow in Ukraine. Some UOC-MP clergy blessed Russian soldiers and weapons, supported Russian aggression, and spread anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
The UOC-MP later shortened its name into the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), but did not sever its ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. The UOC still exists in Ukraine. It operates under significant restrictions and scrutiny and its activities are heavily regulated due to its ties to Russia, especially in the context Russia’s ongoing full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
UOC parishes are free to transition to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which has been Ukraine ‘s most popular Orthodox church since it received a tomos of autocephaly in January 2019, officially recognising its independence. Meanwhile, only 4 per cent of the Ukrainian population support the OCU.
The claim that ethnic Jews are fighting Orthodoxy in Ukraine is also unfounded and reminiscent of anti-semitism. Ukraine is a multinational country, and law-enforcement officials, who are involved in investigating relations between the UOC and the Kremlin, descend from various ethnic backgrounds.
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