Ukraine adopts ‘historic’ law to ban Moscow-linked Orthodox Church
Al Jazeera
Kyiv has accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of complicity in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine has adopted a law to ban religious groups linked to Moscow in a move targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which the government has accused of complicity in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The parliament passed the law by 265 votes to 29 on Tuesday.
Lawmaker Iryna Herashchenko said it was an issue of national security.
“This is a historic vote. Parliament approved a legislation which bans a branch of the aggressor country in Ukraine,” she wrote on Telegram.
Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians but the faith has split between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which is traditionally allied with the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, and the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which has been recognised since 2019.
