Russian Faith By Russian Faith
Parliament in Kiev votes to ban all canonical Orthodox churches in Ukraine
The Ukrainian legislature on Thursday approved in the first reading a bill aimed at banning organizations associated with Russia. Bill 8371 is widely understood to be targeting the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church without saying so directly, so as to avoid criticism from the West.
Of the 404 active members of the Verkhovna Rada, 267 voted in favor of the bill, 15 were against and two abstained.
Authors of the bill have declared that it will “allow citizens of Ukraine to realize the right to freedom of worldview and religion guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine.”
Officially, the bill bans the activities of “religious organizations associated with Russia.” President Vladimir Zelensky’s government considers the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to fit this definition, as it maintains communion with the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church…
