Ukrainian Orthodox Church outraged at authorities' attempt to ban its activities

MOSCOW. March 31 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is outraged at the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada's plans to debate a bill prohibiting the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

"Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's appeal not to incite enmity along religious lines [...], Ukrainian deputies have chosen to impudently and cynically, acting through legislative initiatives, ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and to deprive millions of Ukrainian citizens of their right to freedom of religion," the legal department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said in a statement published on the website of the church on Thursday.

An explanatory note to the bill deliberately contains false allegations against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, although Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have not accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of violating the national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, it said.

A measure that bans people from affiliating themselves with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would breach their right to freedom of religion, thus contravening the European Convention on Human Rights and the Ukrainian constitution, it said.

As reported, a bill prohibiting the activities in Ukraine of religious organizations which have their center in Russia was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on March 26. In this context, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church underscores that its religious center - the Kyiv metropolitan archdiocese - is located in Kyiv, is registered in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, and the founder of the metropolitan archdiocese is the Assembly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which includes the clergy and worshippers who live in Ukraine.

"In this connection, we state that the legislative initiative to ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is illegal, violates the right to freedom of religion and will in no way help 'protect the national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine'," the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said in its statement.