Law banning Russia-affiliated churches set to cleanse Ukraine’s religious realm of Russian ideology adherents - MP

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Mykyta Poturaiev reported this in a comment to Ukrinform.

"Today, our Committee did recommend that the Parliament adopt at second reading the draft law on banning the operations of religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Federation in Ukraine. It is worth emphasizing that the bill isn’t about banning the activities of religious organizations as such but banning their affiliation with the aggressor state," he emphasized.

The lawmaker emphasized that the main goal of the document is to ensure that religious organizations operating in Ukraine have no connections and or remain openly subordinated to religious organizations that are actually part of the Russian regime.

"It is expected that the State Service of Ukraine on Freedom of Conscience (SSUFC) will do a research on any religious organization's ties with the aggressor state," Poturaiev said.

The parliamentarian clarified that the agency can run such a study if it sees grounds to do so or at the request of the central and local authorities, as well as public organizations.

The committee chair noted that, based on this research, the agency shall draw up an order for such a religious organization to sever ties with the aggressor state. If the order is not fulfilled within 30 days since its issue, the agency is entitled to forward the case to court.

However, according to the updated version of the bill, a religious organization has the right to appeal if it does not agree with the results of the inspection.

"The agency may call its decision back if the religious organization provides convincing arguments, presents documents, and proves that it is not affiliated with Russian Federation and has no ties with it," explained Poturaiev.

According to the politician, all reservations and controversial points regarding the judicial review of cases have been taken into account ahead of second reading. "In particular, in the first version of the draft law, it was not specified which courts should hear such cases, which meant that the organization could file appeals “with any district court an infinite number of times”.

"Currently, it is proposed that such cases be heard by higher courts," the People's Deputy emphasized.

At the same time, the new version of the bill contains amendments from the Security Service, which provide for the termination of operations of a religious organization if its leader has been convicted of aiding and abetting the enemy or of high treason.

 "According to law, each religious community or parish can independently decide on the desired church jurisdiction. Currently, a significant number of religious communities seek to transition to another church but this is quite a challenge as additional circumstances may arise that complicate the process. In the draft law, we propose to significantly streamline the procedure," the lawmaker noted.

The draft law also contains a political declaration in which MPs condemn the Russian Orthodox Church, prohibit its operations on the territory of Ukraine, and explain their move.

"We are doing this in order to put an obstacle to the ideology of the ‘Russian world’, to hamper its spread, because the church is one of the main sources of its circulation and propaganda. The law will allow for effectively tackling hostile propaganda while providing no base for persecution on religious grounds," said the chairman of the parliamentary committee.

The parliament is expected to vote on the bill in late March or early April, Poturaiev said.

He is convinced that the bill is capable of restoring political harmony between various parliamentary factions and groups.

"I hope that in this matter, the parliament will stand united,” he said.

“This draft law is not about banning churches, not about persecution on religious grounds, but about banning connections between religious organizations in Ukraine and those in the murderer state, which is Russia. I am convinced that the implementation of the law will help cleanse Ukraine’s religious realm of Russia’s ideology supporters as well as to complete the process of returning the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra to public ownership,” MP concluded.