Lawmakers ban Russian-linked Orthodox Church

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine’s parliament voted Tuesday to ban the Russian-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), a move Kyiv says strengthens its independence as the country cuts ties with institutions it considers aligned with Moscow.

Kyiv has been trying to curb spiritual links with Russia for years — a process accelerated by Moscow’s 2022 invasion, which the powerful Russian Orthodox Church endorsed.

A majority of Ukrainian lawmakers approved the bill outlawing religious organizations linked with Russia, which will mostly affect the Moscow-linked UOC.

Zelensky said the ban would boost his country’s “spiritual independence” and members of parliament hailed the bill as historic.

Russia condemned the move, which its church called “illegal.”

The Russian foreign ministry condemned the decision as a “powerful blow against the whole of Orthodoxy.”

The Russian church has been furious over a 2019 schism that resulted in the creation of an independent UOC, spiritually loyal to Moscow’s Istanbul-based rival Patriarch Bartholomew.

Zelensky, who still needs to sign the bill for it to come into force, said he will be talking to Bartholomew’s representatives in the coming days.

It may take years to implement the ban, causing some dismay among followers of the UOC.

The Moscow-backed church in Ukraine officially broke ties with its Russian counterpart in 2022, but some lawmakers have accused its clerics of collaborating with Russia.