Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Regarding the Adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of a Bill Aimed at the Liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

On August 22, 2024, the members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church approved the text of the statement published below during a remote session (Journal No. 102).

On August 20, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed in its second reading the bill "On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Activities of Religious Organizations," which allows for the judicial prohibition of any religious communities in Ukraine if they are "affiliated" with religious organizations in Russia. A court decision to this effect will require only the conclusion of a "religious studies examination," which, in the current atmosphere of a "witch hunt," can and will be falsified.

The initiators and supporters of the bill in Ukraine—high-ranking state officials, members of the Verkhovna Rada, radical right-wing politicians and public figures, representatives of schismatic organizations, and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church—do not conceal that the bill is directly aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The goal of this law is to eliminate the Church and all its communities or forcibly transfer them to other religious organizations. Hundreds of monasteries, thousands of communities, and millions of Orthodox believers in Ukraine will find themselves outside the legal framework, losing their property and places of worship.

Throughout the years 2014 to 2023, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church repeatedly noted the pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which undoubtedly bears the characteristics of state anti-religious policy. The adoption of today's law is evidence of the impotence of a regime that, throughout its political existence, has consistently sought to weaken, divide, and ultimately destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, step by step.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church has repeatedly appealed to organizations within the UN system, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe, as well as to leaders of global religious communities, testifying to the persecution of believers in Ukraine. Despite the fact that many experts and human rights organizations in the West have acknowledged the violations of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's faithful, this has not prevented the adoption of a bill that effectively destroys the very notion of freedom of conscience and basic human rights.

A constant backdrop to the policy of Church persecution is the ongoing slanderous anti-Church campaign in Ukrainian media, aimed at defaming canonical Orthodoxy, provoking, and justifying mass seizures of churches, which are falsely labeled as "voluntary transitions." These seizures are organized by supporters of the schism and radical nationalists, with the backing of local authorities, security services, and law enforcement agencies. Typically, they are accompanied by violence, including mass beatings of clergy and believers. There have also been seizures and attempts to seize major monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, along with forced evictions of their monastic inhabitants.

The direct pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its episcopate, and clergy by Ukrainian security services continues unabated. In addition to threats and blackmail, this pressure has manifested in the initiation of dozens of fabricated criminal cases and unjust verdicts on political grounds. Numerous archpastors and pastors of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are currently under arrest, detained, or have received unjust sentences.

In several regions and localities across Ukraine, local authorities have outright "banned" the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, forcibly closing its churches, obstructing worship services, and illegally seizing land plots under its monasteries, churches, and holy sites.

Having failed to weaken the canonical Church in Ukraine or to undermine its unity, the local authorities have taken a step towards its outright prohibition.

In its scale and centralized nature, this measure could surpass all previous historical repressions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including the persecutions during the time of the Brest Union, and is comparable to such tragic historical precedents as the persecutions in the Roman Empire under Nero and Diocletian, the so-called de-Christianization of France during the French Revolution of the 18th century, the atheist repressions in the Soviet Union, and the destruction of the Albanian Orthodox Church in the 1960s under Enver Hoxha's regime.

The adopted bill is incompatible with the principles of the rule of law and serves as a political declaration aimed at legitimizing the destruction of the religious community of the majority. The law outlines criteria that enable the identification of a group of individuals associated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, thereby facilitating targeted political repression against them.

With deep sorrow, it is necessary to highlight the negative role played by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the hierarchs who share his views. Through their unilateral, hasty, and canonically unsound actions, they have only exacerbated the ecclesiastical schism in Ukraine rather than healing it. The leadership of the schismatics recognized by the Phanar has vehemently demanded the adoption of a law that effectively bans the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Bartholomew, who had previously publicly endorsed the criminal prosecution and arrests of its hierarchs and clergy, has now, akin to the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, openly supported the actions of the state authorities aimed at crucifying and destroying the canonical Church in Ukraine. Therefore, the Patriarch of Constantinople bears personal responsibility for orchestrating the persecution of the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Expressing firm confidence that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church of Christ (Matthew 16:18), just as they did not prevail during the most severe persecutions in the past; and that the Orthodox Christians of Ukraine will face the new trials prepared for them with courage and steadfastness, overcoming them through the power of Him who loved us, Jesus (Romans 8:37) – we call upon the entirety of world Orthodoxy to intensify their prayers for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which endures tribulations for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:9).

We appeal to international human rights organizations, urging them to immediately and objectively respond to the egregious oppression of believers in Ukraine.